Avatar: The Moon Warrior: Volume I - To Be an Avatar
by Buizel Rubeda
Summary: 1,000 years before the birth of Avatar Aang, the world is teetering on the brink of collapse: Corruption, crime, and strife threaten to tear the four nations apart, and after the untimely death of Avatar Yuecu, the world looks to the Water Tribe for the next Avatar...and perhaps its only hope.
1. Prologue

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**PROLOGUE**

The air was dark. Not a single ray of sunlight pierced the thick mantle of blackness that overshadowed the Western Air Temple. Rain poured in torrential sheets upon the inverted stone buildings carved out of the cliff-side, and lightning split the air at regular intervals, coupled with enormous crashes of thunder, as though the heavens themselves raged above and threatened to collapse upon the denizens below.

Those denizens seemed to be oblivious to the weather: A large procession of Air Nomads, decked in their traditional orange and yellow robes, was trooping along a walkway, each person – man, woman, and child alike – carrying a candle, attempting to shelter the flame from the driving wind and rain, and around each of their heads was a white band. In their midst was a casket, open to the hostile skies, in which lay the body of a woman, fairly young by the look of her, with an air of tragedy and mourning indelibly imprinted upon her inert countenance. At the end of the walkway, on a rampart overlooking a normally spectacular (but in this weather, abysmal) view of the canyon below, there awaited a funeral pyre.

Overlooking the funeral procession from a higher walkway were two other Air Nomads and a man in royal garbs of green.

"I am glad that you were able to attend, Earth King Weizin," said one of the Air Nomads, a woman, whose blue arrow tattoos indicated her mastery.

"Avatar Yuecu was a troubled but noble woman, Sister Nalara," replied the man dressed in green, in a flat and rough but simultaneously sad tone. "I am grieved by her untimely passing."

"As are we all," added the other Air Nomad, a man, also a master. "This entire affair with Jihueng has gotten to all of us — all of we Air Nomads are greatly pained by his treacheries."

"Yes," concurred Sister Nalara, leader of the nuns of the Western Air Temple, Avatar Yuecu's former home, "we are most distressed by the atrocities he has committed across your kingdom, Earth King Weizin."

"Frankly, Sister, we could use your help in remedying the situation," replied the king somewhat cautiously, as though he were verbally treading on thin ice. "The support of the Air Nomads in the cleanup efforts would help to allay the shock of an Air Nomad betraying his teachings and perpetrating such awful deeds so uncharacteristic of your nation."

"I am not so sure that our further involvement will have the result you desire," the nun replied melancholically.

"Agreed," added the male Air Nomad, much more stoically, "The Northern Air Temple disavowed Jihueng's connection to our people the moment we found out about his crimes, and the other three temples followed suit. We have withdrawn our hand."

"That's precisely my point, Monk Hojido," the Earth King replied levelly, though his expression betrayed some small measure of annoyance. "By simply washing your hands of the matter, you are miscommunicating your position. There are those among my constituency who resent your nonchalance in the face of egregious misconduct on the part of an airbender."

"_Nonchalance — ?_ Jihueng has been arrested; the threat has passed! How dare you — ?" replied Hojido, astonished, something like anger coming into his eyes. Sister Nalara raised her hands in a placating gesture and glanced around apprehensively, as though afraid that the argument might be overheard.

"Please, gentlemen, this is a _funeral_, not a political forum!" she hissed, aghast at their flagrant impropriety. The two men looked at each other and ducked their heads in contrition. "We are here," continued Nalara somberly, "to mourn the loss of the Avatar, not to engage in petty squabbling."

"You are right, Sister," acknowledged Earth King Weizin, "I am sorry." His apology being directed to no one in particular, the two airbenders merely bowed in response, and the three individuals momentarily lapsed into silence as their attention became riveted to the obsequies below.

A eulogy had just been read, and the funeral pyre was now being ignited; soon the flames were consuming the body of the tired, sad-looking young woman who had been Avatar Yuecu, and the storm began to rage and howl even more viciously, as though adding its own plaintive cries to those of the mourners, who had now begun to freely release their pent-up sorrows. A flutist began playing a requiem.

"It brings up an important question," Earth King Weizin finally said, in a low, sepulchral voice. The two Air Nomads looked at him, though they appeared to already know the question: "Who is the next Avatar?"

"We all know the cycle," Hojido said peremptorily, "The next Avatar has by now already been born to the Water Tribe."

"But which one?" mused Nalara, "Northern or Southern?"

"Both have been experiencing a population boom," Weizin added, "It will be difficult for us to determine the identity of the Avatar. We will likely simply have to wait until the Moon Spirit reveals it on his or her sixteenth birthday.

"In the meantime," he added in a dark, rugged voice, "we will have much work to do: The balance between and within the four nations is swiftly deteriorating, and if we do not do something to check the problem now, even the Avatar may not be able to right the wrongs.

"Avatar Yuecu wasn't," he finished quietly, visibly apprehensive that such a blatantly tactless observation might elicit rebuke, but neither Air Nomad made any chastising reply. They merely nodded sadly.

"The next Avatar will need to be stronger," Hojido declared, staring at the funeral pyre below. "Far stronger." A clap of thunder met his words, and the rain, if it were possible, intensified.

It seemed as if the blackened, roiling heavens above mourned the loss of the Avatar.


	2. Bk I, Ch 1, The Stolen Child

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 1:**_** The Stolen Child**_

A medley of succulent aromas filled the air in the snow house, a merry fire crackling in the center of the hearth. Henyara took a long draught of her stewed sea prunes as her father, Mako, and her best friend Kasori's father, Banaq, dominated the conversation with their debate about the impact of the recent crime and strife sprees plaguing the northern Earth Kingdom on the Northern Water Tribe's trade routes.

Henyara was trying to find something else – _anything_ else – to capture her attention – she couldn't imagine a more _boring_ topic than international politics and economics – but there was little to offer her reprieve: Kasori, whom she had known since they were both infants, being born on the same day to two families already close with one another, was, as had become his habit of late, staring contemplatively into his food, not breathing a word or even acknowledging the raging conversation around him; their mothers, Kasori's the chief healer of the tribe, and Henyara's a…well, nothing special, were exchanging furtive smiles at their husbands' good-natured bickering.

Riaq, Kasori's cousin, senior to him by two years, was making funny faces to Kasori's baby sister Niika, who was squealing in delight; Riaq's parents – Banaq's brother Luttek and his wife Sella – were staying out of the debate, despite being merchants themselves, and were chatting quietly amongst themselves, occasionally casting grins at the two tradesmen who were growing more fervent each second.

There was nothing else to pique Henyara's interests: She had been in Kasori's house so many times in the fourteen years she had known him that she knew every inch of it — it was like trying to find something intriguing to look at in her _own_ house. She found herself waterbending her stew into her mouth…until her mother pinched her arm. She hated when Henyara did that.

"This conversation is _soooo_ boring," she groaned quietly to Kasori; he didn't respond, but continued to stare intently at his bowl of stew. It was empty, and she could only imagine what on earth he found so fascinating about it. When Kas went into one of his "thinking" trances, there was no pulling him out of it. Henyara rolled her eyes and went back to her food.

"…they need to do something, there's just no question about that," Mako was saying matter-of-factly. "There's simply too much crime in the cities; we can't do business in ports like that. It's making the Fire Nation suspicious of our cargoes — they think _we're_ involved! That _we're_ running contraband! _Us!_ The Water Tribe!"

"The Fire Nation has always resented our dominance of the seaways," Banaq countered. "Their suspicions are hardly unsurprising — and not entirely inappropriate. I know that I would be suspicious of traders doing business in such shady ports of call."

"But they're completely unfounded! And that's exactly it — the Water Tribe has always been honest, and always been the champion of fair trade on the seas. We would do nothing to compromise that."

"As a people, no, but there are always corrupt individuals in every nation, and we are hardly an exception. It only takes one to cause problems…"

"Someone should tell that to the Earth King — and while they're at it, tell him to fix all of this crime! It's even starting to spill over into the Fire Nation. Seems the syndicates are expanding their empires overseas — what if they try to come here?"

"We won't allow that," Banaq said staunchly. "The Water Tribe does not tolerate criminals."

"It's only a matter of time when we're trading in places like Xing Fong!" Mako countered darkly. "I'm not looking forward to our expedition tomorrow — I'm wondering if the kids shouldn't be coming after all…"

"I can take care of myself, dad," Henyara interjected a little waspishly; to gloss over her outburst, she gave Kasori a friendly slap on the shoulder and added: "And so can Kas." Kas looked up at her, surveyed the table through half-closed eyes, and then returned wordlessly to his meditations — whatever they were…though she could've sworn that she saw him smile ever so faintly as he did.

Well, it was certainly true that they could take care of themselves: Henyara had always been tough, a real rough-and-tumble, no-nonsense kind of girl. Her mother always told her that she got that from her father. From a young age, she had trained in self-defense and combative waterbending, despite the fact that it was unorthodox for females to do so in the Northern Water Tribe, and, if she did say so herself, she was pretty good. One of the best in the tribe, and certainly tough enough to deal with any common criminals.

And Kas? Well, Kas had _never_ needed anyone looking out for him. From infancy, he had astounded the tribe with his prowess in waterbending of all shapes and sizes, even impressing Master Nanuk, the biggest, baddest, and arguably greatest waterbending master in all the world…well, until Kas came along.

Master Nanuk had started training Kas at the age of six, and he had been outstripped by the boy by the time the latter was eight. Henyara wasn't the type of girl to go all dewy-eyed over anything, but even she had to admit: Kasori's bending was simply beautiful. Watching him bend was like watching the celestial lights shimmering over the tundra — glorious and astounding at the same time.

Kas was nothing less than a prodigy. Master Nanuk called him the single greatest waterbender in all of history, and had even granted him the official social title of "Master"…something that Henyara teased him about to no end. He hated being called "Master Kasori."

Yeah, there was no doubt that Kas could take care of himself.

"I've taken Kas on every trading voyage I've been on since he was seven years old," Banaq was saying somewhat sternly, "I am not going to stop now. He can handle himself." He looked at Henyara and grinned. "And your daughter's a pretty tough customer herself." Henyara gave him an obsequious bow, and they laughed. Kas smiled, seemingly in spite of himself, though he still remained staring at his bowl.

"Even so — have you heard what Panqin has been up to in Xing Fong lately…?" Mako launched into a terribly dry and long-winded narrative about the criminal kingpin of the Earth Kingdom port of Xing Fong, and Henyara's momentary interest evaporated.

She found herself watching Kas as he stared at his food. There was a strange look in his vivid green eyes — an almost sad look…

"Hey, Kas," she whispered, nudging him on the shoulder, "You okay? You look even more absorbed than usual." Kas met her gaze, seeming mildly surprised at her intrusion into his reverie. He hardly seemed to have registered her question.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine…just thinking," he replied somewhat flatly.

"You're _always_ thinking," she replied archly, "You look like somebody _died_. C'mon, what's up?" Kasori's eyes suddenly grew brighter and colder. She had his full attention now.

"People _are_ dying, Henyara," he muttered. "They're dying all over the Earth Kingdom. If it's not brawls in the streets, it's disease and famine. Crime is rampant, the economy is grinding to a halt, and everyone's suffering for it.

"It's not just the Earth Kingdom, either. The Fire Nation's plagued with corruption, and insurrections are popping up all over both nations. And your father's right: The Earth Kingdom crime syndicates are expanding across the ocean. Piracy's running amok all over the world — even the Air Nomads are getting hit hard on that front. And instead of working together to try and solve these problems, the four nations are turning on each other."

He sighed: "It's just all so…tragic." Henyara gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"I know it bothers you, Kas, but what're you gonna do? You're just one Water Tribe kid." Kasori gave her a very serious look.

"It's attitudes like that that produce and maintain these situations, Henyara."

"What're you wanting to do, Kas? Change the world by yourself? It's not like you're the Avatar or something."

"The Avatar's not the only one who can make a difference," Kas replied immediately, in a tone that sounded almost heated, which was unusual for him.

"No," Henyara admitted, "but I just meant that…" She sighed. "Kas, you're fourteen. What can you do?" Kasori gave her a very long, measured look…and then returned to contemplating his bowl.

"Anything in my power to help," he muttered cryptically. Henyara stared at him for a minute before going back to her own food. Kas always took things so seriously, but this seemed especially touchy for him. She wondered what had his feathers so ruffled.

And it wasn't that Henyara didn't care: She hated seeing all the suffering in the world too, but she saw little use in worrying about what was beyond her ability or responsibility to control.

_I guess he'll work himself out of it_, she thought with a mental shrug. _He always does…_

Henyara kept eating.

* * *

Like clockwork, Kasori awoke at midnight. It had become a nightly ritual; some nights, he simply went back to sleep, but most nights – like tonight – he arose silently, pulled on his heavy parka, boots, gloves, and mask to protect himself from the fierce cold of a North Pole winter night, and headed silently past his slumbering baby sister Niika and out onto the street.

The Northern Water Tribe city was so beautiful at night: The silvery blue moonlight shimmered on the mirror-smooth surface of the canals, and the hard-packed snow of the streets, buildings, and bridges glistened majestically in the darkness. Everything was still and quiet — there were no insects to chirrup, no trees to whistle in the wind. There was only the soft moan of the breeze and the gentle whoosh of the ocean in the distance.

The sky above was a sea of stars, a vast bejeweled ebony cloth splashed with all sorts of colors, colors that were so radiant and unearthly that it hardly seemed appropriate to group them together in the mundane categories of reds, greens, blues, and purples. From one horizon to the other, there was not a cloud to be seen.

Kasori stood staring at the sight for a few minutes, as was his custom, before setting off for the northern edge of the city.

It was a quiet walk: Not a person was stirring, and with good reason, since it was bitterly cold outside. But Kasori didn't mind. He had never minded the cold — even for someone born and raised at the North Pole, he had always had a remarkable affinity for cold.

He stopped at the base of the enormous cliff that marked the edge of the city, shielding it from ferocious northern winds. Spreading his feet slightly farther apart, Kasori made a single, deliberate, circular gesture with his left hand, aiming his palm at the ground: The snow beneath his feet froze into a compact disk of solid ice and rocketed upward into the air, carrying Kasori with it. When he reached the top, hovering about a foot above the level of the tundra, he swept his arms back, and his ice disk shot off into the night, ferrying him at dizzying speed into the teeth of the wind.

Securing the hood of his parka and the mask that protected his face from the blistering, whipping winds, Kasori sat down cross-legged on the ice disk, settling in to briefly enjoy the view of the stark but grand landscape as it blurred past him.

He then closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, letting them swirl in his gut before exhaling them in long, steady streams; a wet heat soon enveloped his mask. He did not need his eyes to navigate: He could feel the water, all around him, in ice and snow and vapor, all humming with the vibrations of wind, shifting earth, and the footsteps of animals. The vibrations painted a clear picture of the surrounding tundra for miles.

Henyara's words from the preceding evening stuck in his mind like a harpoon; he knew that she had only meant well, and, in a way, she was right: He was only one boy. There was only so much that he could do to alleviate the world's many problems.

"_What're you wanting to do? Change the world by yourself?"_

_Maybe not. Maybe just my little corner of it. Maybe that's all I can do._

That's what he _had_ to do. He couldn't just sit by and do nothing — Water Tribe kid or no. The problems in the world were _everyone's_ responsibility, and people would have to recognize that to get anywhere near solving them.

"_It's not like you're the Avatar or something."_ Yeah, well…Avatar or no Avatar, the fact remained that the world was in sore need of fixing, and he was going to do everything in his power to help.

"_Anything in my power"…_ Those had been his own words. He had meant them.

Kasori stood up, slowly and deliberately, opening his eyes and slowing his ice disk as he approached a nexus of four hills that enclosed a little valley, shielded from the wind. With a gesture, he sank his ice disk back into the snow whence it had come, and took a few steps into the center of the enclosure.

He had been coming here for years, ever since he was a little boy, braving the fierce cold to train in solitude. He always trained better alone — he did most things better alone…

_Of course, it's not all about personality…_ Kasori thought wryly. No, it wasn't.

There was another reason for his clandestine nocturnal excursions: There was a secret, a secret that, for now, could only come out here, in the frigid tundra, far from prying eyes, a secret that he had kept since he was three years old.

It had been brutally hard, hiding it for all these years —

_Focus, Kasori. There's a time for everything. For now, _patience_…_

Kasori moved, a fast but graceful motion executed with practiced ease, extending two fingers and releasing his secret into the night…in the form of a powerful jet of brilliant flames; with a quick turn on his heel, his other hand shot out in a fist, and the very earth itself was upheaved in a jagged bolt eructing from his punch; a second turn, wider and slower, more graceful, and his open hand pierced the night with a cyclonic gust of air; one final turn, so natural, so instinctual, that he closed his eyes as he executed a move that he felt he had been born knowing, and his left hand rose once more in a gentle sweeping motion, and the snow before it melted and erupted into a powerful wave that blasted out into the tundra.

Kasori brought his feet and hands together, adopting a statuesque posture and exhaling deeply and calmly, feeling the power of the four elements surging through his blood like lightning with each beat of his heart as he stood at their vertex, enveloped in the roar of the water, the bellow of the earth, the snarl of the flames, and the shriek of the winds, all bathed in the light of the stars and the moon above.

Henyara's words came to him again: _"It's not like you're the Avatar or something."_

Avatar Kasori smiled at that thought, opening his eyes to the night.

* * *

The port of Xing Fong really was a quaint place: As Kasori surveyed it, the minty light of dawn was washing gently over the already bustling docks, where a long row of ships from all three seafaring nations lay bobbing in the placid water. The air was crisp and cold, though not nearly as cold as the North Pole, so Kasori and the other Water Tribesmen felt perfectly comfortable without their parkas. A very slight dusting of snow covered the earthen docks, where dozens of vendors were already peddling their sundry wares, and a pleasant oceanic breeze was blowing in from the northwest.

Well, Xing Fong _would_ have been a quaint place…were it not for all of the crime: Even as Kasori scanned the milling crowds, he spotted at least three blatant thefts, one of them going on not five yards away from a city guard. From a mere five seconds' look, he strongly suspected that the Fire Nation ship docked four vessels down from the Northern Water Tribe's merchant marines was smuggling contraband. The sound of muggings and probably far ghastlier crimes could be heard over the hubbub of the marketplace, emanating from the bowels of the city proper to the south.

"Welcome," cried Henyara in an inflated, grandiose voice, "to the armpit of the northern Earth Kingdom!" Kasori couldn't repress a small smile; Mako came up behind his daughter and ruffled her long brown hair in a half scolding, half amused manner.

"Now, Henyara, keep it down with that kind of talk! You might get us banished!"

"I doubt it," Kasori muttered, watching the Fire Nation ship: As he suspected, he could see an illicit smuggling deal taking place as they spoke. "From the looks of things, Xing Fong needs the honest trade."

"Indeed," Banaq said in his booming voice, approaching from behind them, "and the price of that honest trade is increased regulations to try and discourage pirates. Apparently, we need to check our inventory with the guards now, immediately upon disembarking. It'll take a while, so why don't you kids head off and enjoy yourselves for a little bit."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Henyara said immediately. "Catch ya later, Kas," she added, clapping him on the shoulder before racing down the unloading ramp, "There's a shop I wanna find." Kasori shook his head at his friend's exuberance and made his own way much more slowly down the ramp and into the crowd.

After a few minutes of meandering – and nearly breaking the fingers of two separate pickpockets – he suddenly heard his name being called out of the crowd to his right: "Kas? Kasori of the Northern Water Tribe?" He looked around and smiled when he recognized the speaker: an elderly man standing behind a fruit stand laden with a hardy northern fruit called a chicun.

"Yu Feng!" He hurried up to the man and gave him a respectful bow, which the man warmly reciprocated. "How have you been?"

"Honestly, Kas, things could be better," the man replied in a hoarse voice as he accepted a few copper pieces from a man in exchange for a couple of chicun.

"It's not your arm, is it?" asked Kasori concernedly.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Yu Feng assured him with a smile that betrayed several missing teeth, "the arm has never been better, thanks to you! It's my grandson."

"Lo Zen?"

"Yes. The cold air of late has given him a nasty cough. I had to buy some medicine for him, but it wasn't enough. I cannot afford more, and winter is barely halfway over…" Kasori craned his neck to look behind Yu Feng's back.

"Is that him there?" A boy, perhaps seven years old, was hiding behind his grandfather, scratching in a little clump of snow with a stick. He was covered in layers of raggedy clothing, and his mouth was covered in a cloth. As Kasori watched him, he coughed violently, a terrible, wet cough that made it sound as though his lungs were being shredded with each breath.

Wordlessly, Kasori stepped around behind the fruit stand and knelt down in front of the boy; Lo Zen started and scampered back a few paces, eyes wide.

"It's okay," Kasori assured him softly, "I can help." The boy still seemed terrified. Yu Feng placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder.

"It's all right, Lo Zen. This is Kasori. He is a friend." Kasori smiled to back up his grandfather's words. Lo Zen didn't seem entirely convinced, but he stopped backing away.

Kasori passed his hand over the little clump of snow that the boy had been playing with, and the snow rose up as liquid water and covered his hand, beginning to glow faintly. Kasori placed his hand gently over the young boy's chest; even through the layers of clothing, he could sense the disease in the boy's lungs: clusters of tangled energy, like calculi in the blood, blocking the normal flow.

Kasori exhaled quietly, untangling the knots with practiced ease, and in a couple of seconds, he withdrew his hand and let the water fall in the form of snow back onto the pile whence he had drawn it. Lo Zen took a breath, and, finding his lungs perfectly clear, ripped the cloth off his mouth, smiled broadly, and hugged Kasori.

"Thank you!" he murmured before bouncing away, stomping in the snow and laughing delightedly. Kasori smiled and stood up, brushing some snow off of his knees and moving out from behind Yu Feng's stand.

"I must thank you too, Kas," the elderly man told him sincerely. "I was very worried about Lo Zen. I did not know you could heal diseases like that."

"Oh sure," said Kasori, "Lots of kids get that kind of sickness at the North Pole. There aren't many herbs up there, so we rely a lot on healing."

"Your mother taught you well," Yu Feng praised him.

"Yeah, she did," Kasori agreed nostalgically. He had a lot of fond memories of those days: When he was eight years old, after he had finished his training in traditional waterbending, his mother had started teaching him the art of healing. It was unusual for a boy in the Northern Water Tribe to learn healing, traditionally a woman's art, but it wasn't entirely unheard of. There was a push to make the tradition more rigid, but so far it hadn't gained too much ground…

"Anyway," Kasori continued, "I thought you and Lo Zen were going to leave for Ba Sing Se because of all the crime."

"We were," Yu Feng confirmed sadly, "but when Lo Zen got sick, I had to spend the money we had saved on the medicines for his cough. Besides, it is too dangerous of a journey for the two of us alone, and my nephew, who was going to accompany us with his family, also lost his savings in a robbery a few weeks ago. Perhaps by spring we will have found another way…"

"Is there anything I can do, Yu Feng?" The old man smiled at him.

"You have already done a great deal for me, Kas. You healed my arm after that thief broke it; you healed my grandson just now. Good health is a blessing in this town."

"Still…" Kasori muttered. It seemed so little when the town appeared to be literally falling apart around him; just looking around, he could see four thefts, a kidnapping, and even arson going on right now. Watching as a poor man's vending stand began to go up in flames and the perpetrator fled, cackling, Kasori sighed and flicked his hand: The snow around the stand rose up in a little wave that extinguished the flames. The arsonist didn't even notice and kept running.

"Do not underestimate the impact that gestures of your kind can have on people, Kas," the older man advised him, laying a hand temporarily on his shoulder before turning to a customer. "You never know what little spark might ignite a fire of change," he added out of the corner of his mouth. _That's true, I suppose…_

It didn't make him feel much better about things. He felt there was more he could be doing here in this town, but what? Where could he even start when the problems were so many and so diverse?

"Hey, Kas!" came Henyara's voice; she picked her way out of the crowd, slapping away a pickpocket and trotting up to his side. "Like the necklace?" she asked, touching a new jade necklace that she was wearing and had evidently just purchased.

"It's nice, but it doesn't really match your Water Tribe clothes," Kasori answered honestly.

"When have I ever cared about matching clothes?" Henyara asked dryly. "I just bought it because I liked it."

"Yu Feng," Kasori said as the customer left, three chucin in his arms, "this is my friend, Henyara. Henyara, Yu Feng." The two bowed to each other.

"Any friend of Kas is a friend of mine," Yu Feng said graciously.

"Likewise," said Henyara.

"Uh…" began Kasori, spotting the same pickpocket she had shooed away a moment ago sneaking up on her, eying her necklace; he was a boy not much older than Kasori himself. Henyara rolled her eyes; she shifted her feet, pushing backward off her front foot and ducking under the thief's outstretched arms, seizing the nearer of them and rotating it into a lock as she kicked out his knee.

"You again?" Henyara growled in surprise, plastering the teenager's face in the snowy earth, "Jeez, didn't you get the message the first time?"

"Haha," the thief chuckled. _Is he…blushing?_ Kasori wondered: The boy's face seemed a little redder than it ought to have been… "I guess not."

"Why don't you gimme one good reason not to break your arm?" Henyara snarled at him, unamused by the boy's awkwardness.

"Uh…"

"Let him go, Henyara," Kasori advised, "He's just a kid."

"Yeah, let me go," the thief agreed readily. Henyara snorted and released his arm. The thief stood shakily, gave Kasori a gesture that he supposed was meant as a thank you, and trotted off back into the crowd.

"Dork," Henyara pronounced caustically.

"Yep," Kasori agreed. Before they could move on to more scintillating conversation, a commotion to their left caught their attention: Two men appeared to be accosting an elderly woman, who was pleading with them, a child – who could not have been older than three or four – clinging desperately to her leg.

"C'mon, lady, it's nothing personal," said one of the men, a hulk with a jagged scar encircling the right side of his neck. "You owe Panqin some money, we're here to collect it. Just business. Now hand over the silver, and we'll be on our way."

"But I don't have the money!" the woman wailed, "My son was supposed to get the money for you, but he was lost at sea! Please, there is nothing I can do! I am too old to get that kind of money for you — I can barely feed myself and my grandson! I am all he has! Please!"

"Then maybe if we take your grandson, you'll be able to scrape up the cash!" The man seized the little boy by the arm; the child screamed in protest, and Kasori distinctly saw a nearby city guard glance in the direction of the commotion: With an anguished look on his face, he averted his eyes and pointedly ignored the ongoing crime.

"No, _please!_" shrieked the woman. By now, several heads had turned in their direction, but not one soul made a move as the man tore the child away from his grandmother.

"No, no, no!" the boy was yelling, his voice piercing the wintry air, but the thugs paid no mind.

"Get us our money, lady, and you'll have him back, safe and sound!" They ran off, the little boy tucked under the scarred man's arm.

Kasori hadn't even noticed he was moving…until he felt Henyara's hand on his arm, restraining him.

"Let me go, Henyara," he growled, "I'm going to rescue that kid."

"Kas." Something about her tone made him pause and remove his eyes from the thugs as they disappeared down an alley at the edge of the marketplace. He turned his head to look at her; rarely did such lugubriousness enter her eyes.

"Let it go," she finished sadly.

"What're you talking about?" Kasori asked, nonplussed, "That is a _child_ they're stealing!"

"And what're you gonna do, Kas?"

"I'm _going_ to stop them!"

"And then what? You give the kid back to his grandmother, and they'll just come back some other time, when you're not around, and take him again, and probably do a lot worse to her."

"Your friend is right, Kas," Yu Feng assured him sorrowfully, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you intervene, you will only bring further harm to the family. They will not hurt the boy. They merely want him as collateral, and they will return him once the grandmother pays her debt."

"And what if she can't?" Kasori demanded.

"Then he will likely be turned to a life of crime so that _he_ can repay it. Panqin is a businessman. He has no interest in running around hurting little children."

"Forcing a child to grow up with his thugs and drowning him in crime just to pay some debt that was probably illegal anyway sounds like hurting him to me!" Kasori retorted.

"The debt was probably legitimate, Kas," Yu Feng claimed. "I know many people who have borrowed money from Panqin. He only asks single favors in return, and of course, he asks that he be repaid later. Then he leaves the families alone.

"But he and his enforcers do not take kindly to people interfering in their business, even if it is to rescue children. Panqin is ruthless; trust me: If you were to openly defy him and steal the boy back, you would only assure his family greater harm. For now, the child is safe."

"Would you be saying the same thing if it were Lo Zen who had been kidnapped?" Kasori shot back at him. The moment the words left his lips, he regretted them. Henyara squeezed his arm, and Yu Feng stared back at him tearfully. "Yu Feng…I'm so sorry," Kasori muttered, ducking his head. "I can't believe I — "

"It is okay, Kasori. It is a question that deserves an answer." He paused for a long, gloomy moment. "_Yes_," he whispered finally. "I would say the same if it were Lo Zen. At least I would know that he was safe, fed, and warm — which is often more than I can do for him myself. Some parents even beg Panqin to take their children out of the gutters. They think a life of delinquency will be better for them than a life of starvation and disease. I do not agree with such choices…but I certainly understand them.

"Lo Zen is my grandson, and he is all that is left of my daughter. I would do anything to protect him, and I am sure that that woman feels the same…which is why I am urging you to let this go."

Kasori stared back at Yu Feng for a long moment. He could tell that this good old man was being sincere. And he knew that he and Henyara were right: His intervention would only delay and ultimately exacerbate the problem.

Panqin would have his money, one way or another…he always did.

"Okay, Yu Feng," he muttered. Henyara released his arm, and Yu Feng released his shoulder, turning his attention to a customer who had just approached.

_I'll let this go…for now_, Kas thought. _But I will _not_ forget_.


	3. Bk I, Ch 2, By the Light of the Moon

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 2: **_**By the Light of the Moon**_

A fog was rolling in from the north; white tendrils of water vapor were snaking their way amongst the ships bobbing peacefully at the docks, a slight northerly breeze helping them along. The moon was nearly new tonight, and a thin layer of clouds covered most of the sky, leaving little light by which to see.

_Good_, Kasori thought, observing the thick shadows from the forecastle of the ship. _Darkness will be quite à propos tonight._ Instead of his normal Water Tribe clothes, he had donned a black garb that blended in with the night, complete with a cowl that covered his face.

_Time to go…_

"So…" came a voice out of the gloom, "off to fight crime by night, are we?" Kasori smiled behind his mask.

"Are you here to lecture me, Henyara, or are you coming with me?" Henyara stepped out of the shadows, her boots creaking on the wood of the ship; she, too, was wearing black garbs.

"When have you ever known me to lecture anyone?" she asked archly.

"Good point…"

"So do you have a plan to get that kid back, or are you just intending to cut a swath through the town until you find him?"

"When have you ever known me to _not_ have a plan?"

"Good point. So what is it?"

"I recognized one of the thugs who abducted him," Kasori answered. "I didn't realize it until after the fact, but I know his face from wanted posters and from rumors around town. The scar on his neck is pretty distinctive. His name is Shian Jo, and he's one of Panqin's most trusted enforcers."

"Nice to know, but how does that help us exactly?" Kasori turned to face her, smiling once more behind his mask.

"I might happen to know where he likes to hang out after dark."

"I'm not gonna bother asking how you know that," Henyara said dryly. "So what're we waitin' for?" Kasori nodded, turned, and lifted a single hand: A large disk of water rose up from the ocean below, freezing as it came, and hovered at the level of the forecastle. They hopped on, and with a sweeping gesture from Kasori, the ice disk rocketed off into the night.

They soared past the docks and over the town proper; Xing Fong wasn't too large of a town, so it did not take long before they came to a halt above a large, rectangular building from which raucous noises and some rather unpleasant aromas were emanating.

"This is it," Kasori muttered; he lowered the ice disk until they were level with the roof, unfreezing it and compressing it into a stream of water that he looped around his right arm, refreezing it into a little band of ice that he then concealed beneath his sleeve.

"Once we confront Shian Jo," he continued quietly, "I don't think we should do any waterbending. It could compromise our identities."

"Gotcha," Henyara replied. "And you don't think these cowls will be conspicuous?"

"Not really," Kasori answered, "This is a seedy tavern in a town run by criminals. A couple of characters in masks isn't an unusual sight." Henyara nodded, and they climbed down from the roof, dropping into an alley behind the tavern; from there, they entered through a back door.

The inside of the tavern was the perfect picture of a criminal hangout: It was dark, dank, and full of carousing lowlifes from all ends of the spectrum, and there was a definite air of foreboding pervading everything.

"What now?" asked Henyara quietly as they slid into the crowd.

"Just find Shian Jo and keep an eye on him," Kasori replied. "We'll wait for him to leave and then…" He trailed off, feeling that completing the sentence was unnecessary. It was pretty obvious what they were here to do. Henyara merely nodded.

They slinked their way through the milling groups of people, half of them laughing uproariously, undoubtedly intoxicated out of their minds, and the other half sneering at the first half while trying to rob them blind while their senses were benumbed by alcohol and who knew what else.

Kasori had been worried that it might take a while to locate Shian Jo, but, as luck would have it, they spotted him quickly: sitting off against the wall at a large table occupied by what appeared to be a group of henchmen and their assorted lady escorts. Kasori nudged Henyara's arm and nodded furtively in the thugs' direction; Henyara nodded in reply, and they slid into a shadowy corner near the table where they could lean against the wall and keep watch unhindered.

"So once we get the kid's location from this guy," Henyara began in a whisper, "what exactly do you intend to do? Stealing the kid back presents the same problem it did this morning, y'know."

"Not quite," Kasori replied, "Yesterday, we would've been just a couple of Water Tribe kids struggling in futility against the establishment. But tonight…tonight we're a threat."

"I don't see what's changed."

"Panqin runs Xing Fong through fear," Kasori said darkly. "His power is based on the illusion that he's in total control of everything that goes on here. A couple of Water Tribe kids beating up his thugs in the streets doesn't present a threat to that power." He paused and looked at her seriously. "But a couple of mysterious figures materializing out of the night to right his wrongs from the shadows? That's something to be concerned about."

"I hope you're right about that," Henyara muttered, "or we could be making a big mistake."

"Trust me," Kasori growled softly, returning his gaze to Shian Jo. The thug, with his distinctive scar gleaming in the weak, lambent lamplight, was chatting it up with his pals, who were laughing somewhat forcedly at his apparently poor jokes. The ladies accompanying them were giggling rather seductively; Kasori doubted they found his jokes legitimately funny either.

"Quite the people person, isn't he?" Henyara observed wittily. Kasori didn't respond; he could only think of the face of the little boy this man had abducted, screaming as they dragged him away from his grandmother…

_Focus! Don't let anger cloud your judgment, Kasori. Breathe…_ With a mighty effort, he checked his anger, exhaling it in calming breaths and centering himself in preparation for the job he had to do tonight. _Just stay focused…_

"Looks like we don't have to wait long," Henyara observed; Shian Jo was rising from the table.

"Sorry, ladies," he was saying, his voice slightly slurred by alcohol, "but we have to be going. Business, you know."

"Not if we can help it," Kasori whispered as Shian Jo and his men began trooping towards the exit; Kasori and Henyara followed closely.

"Four cronies — two for each of us?" Henyara asked.

"Deal." They debouched onto the alley just seconds after their quarry; the men were lined up in a crescent a few paces behind their leader, all heading at a brisk pace towards where the alley intersecting with a larger street.

Kasori caught Henyara's eye and gestured to the man farthest to the right; Henyara nodded, and they split, breaking into a quick walk, rapidly closing the distance between them and their targets.

Kasori came up behind the henchman farthest on the left; he didn't even notice the danger until Kasori's hammer punch landed squarely on the back of his head; with a _thwack_, he went down, lying inert on the ground. The man next to him started in alarm, turning towards Kasori, who fired a series of jabs to the qi centers on his torso and ambdomen. The thug crumpled to the ground, twitching and groaning but otherwise unable to move.

He saw that Henyara had taken down her two targets too; Shian Jo was already turned around, reaching for a knife sheathed at the small of his back. Kasori lunged forward, clamping his hand down on Shian Jo's wrist, keeping it pressed in place so that he could not draw his weapon; his knee came up in a powerful strike to the man's groin, crumpling him to his knees; Henyara slid in and placed his other arm in a lock that threatened to break it.

With a flourish, Kasori swept away Shian Jo's knife-side hand, drew the blade himself, and placed it threateningly against the man's throat.

"Answer our questions, and you won't get hurt," he growled.

"What do you want?" Shian Jo growled, his voice full of pain from the blow to his groin.

"Like the man said," Henyara answered him, "We want answers."

"What about?"

"You stole a little kid from his grandmother early this morning," Kasori hissed in his ear. "You're going to tell us where he is."

"Or else," Henyara added in a snarl.

"What do you care about the kid? You family or something?" Shian Jo asked.

"It doesn't matter who we are," Kasori answered him. "What matters is that you have information that we want." He pressed the knife implicatively against the man's exposed larynx.

"All right, all right!" Shian Jo said quickly, shying away from the blade. "I'll answer your questions!"

"Good," Henyara growled, "Talk fast."

"The kid's in a warehouse on the beachfront — where we run the smuggling operations in conjunction with the pirate gangs. We sometimes store…uh, collateral…there for a little while before we take 'em to a long-term holding place."

"Where precisely is this warehouse?" Henyara asked.

"Like I said, the beachfront — about a half mile east of the main docks, in a little cove."

"And where's this holding place you were talking about — where you keep your _collateral_ long-term?" Kasori added, practically spitting the word _collateral_.

"Why? The kid's not there yet — "

"Because I want to know!" Kasori snarled at him, leaning in close to him and pressing the knife menacingly against his throat again.

"Okay, okay — it's at the southwestern edge of the city. There's a bunch of old ruins there from a fire that broke out a few years back during a drought. At the center of the ruins there's one building that's mostly intact — an old tavern. The holding facility's in the wine cellar." Kasori committed the information to memory.

"Good. Now, this warehouse — what's security like there?"

"Pretty tight. Patrolling guards everywhere, well-armed — no lights though. There might be a sloop with a cannon on the foredeck — but you can avoid it pretty easily. When you're inside, your biggest worry is Nolin."

"Who's Nolin?" asked Henyara.

"Panqin's man in charge of overseeing the smuggling operations on land. He does all the deals with the pirates and occasional 'honest' merchants who bring in the contraband."

"And what's so terrible about him?"

"Everything. He's a regular monster."

"Unlike you, who just kidnap children for money," Kasori observed caustically.

"That was just _business!_" Shian Jo snarled. "I only took the kid so his grandam would scrape up the coin she owes us! It's nothing personal, and I certainly don't wanna go around hurtin' little kids!"

"Just taking them away from their families and possibly traumatizing them for life," Henyara remarked acerbically.

"How much does the grandmother owe?" asked Kasori. Shian Jo and Henyara both looked surprised by his question.

"W-Why — ?"

"_How much?_"

"Twenty silver pieces!" Kasori and Henyara looked at each other. Then Shian Jo grunted in pain as Henyara tugged his arm deeper into the lock; Kasori almost thought he could hear the joint straining.

"You kidnapped a kid for _twenty pieces of silver?!_"

"You're a piece of work all right," Kasori muttered almost absently. Actually, he was thankful that the amount was so meagerly. He stepped back from Shian Jo, reached into his tunic, and withdrew a jingling animal skin drawstring bag. He tossed it at Shian Jo's feet, where it clanked noisily.

"That's _fifty_ pieces of silver," Kasori said evenly, to both Henyara and Shian Jo's utter shock. "It's all yours on two conditions. One, you use it to cover the family's debt, and two, you never bother that family _ever_ again. If they ask you for any business in the future, you will either refuse, or do the job gratis. You understand?"

"How will you know — ?" Kasori lunged at him, bringing the knife back up against his throat for a third time.

"Oh, I'll know," he assured him dangerously, narrowing his eyes to emerald slits. "We're getting that kid back either way, so the only question is whether you make money off the deal or not. Besides, if you don't take the coin, you'll have to answer to Panqin when he finds out his _collateral_ has gone missing and the debt is still unpaid. I don't think you want to do that."

Shian Jo gulped: "No…n-no, I don't. You got a deal. But I don't know if I can uphold the second condition — it's not really my purview — "

"You'll find a way," Kasori assured him menacingly. Shian Jo gulped again.

"Y-Yeah, you got it."

"Good," continued Kasori briskly. "Now, is there anything else we should know before taking our leave?"

"Just…I never wanted to kidnap the kid, okay?" Shian Jo bleated pitifully. "I swear, it was just business! I don't like it any more than you do — "

"If that were true," Kasori cut across him acrimoniously, "then you would have already returned him to his grandmother and covered their debts _yourself_. Don't give us your excuses. Now if that's all…" Kasori tossed the knife to the ground, stepped behind Shian Jo, and placed him quickly into a rear blood choke, sinking his weight to apply massive pressure against his carotid arteries; in seconds, the man blacked out, and both Kasori and Henyara released him, letting his inert, bulky form collapse to the ground on top of the bag of silver.

"Where did you get that kind of money?" Henyara asked immediately.

"Not all of us fritter away our money on jade necklaces," Kasori answered her amusedly.

"Fair enough — but what was all of that about wanting to know where the holding place was? Are you planning more than one rescue tonight?"

"It never hurts to know. Maybe in the future we can do something about it."

"How do you know he and Panqin will honor the 'deal'?"

"Like they've all been saying," Kasori responded semi-sardonically, "It's just _business_. They wanted their money; now they've got it. Let's get moving." He took her hand and led her out of the alley and onto the street so that the qi-blocked thug would not see him summon his ice disk and carry himself and Henyara into the sky, steering back towards the beach.

"He said we were looking for a cove," said Henyara a little loudly over the wind, which was beginning to pick up as they soared over the docks again.

"Yeah," added Kasori, "east of the docks." They flew eastward, and sure enough, not even a minute later, they spotted a small cove, little more than an indent in the shoreline. He could see the armed sloop that Shian Jo had mentioned: It was bobbing in the placid water directly in front of a small, crude, rectangular building that was undoubtedly the warehouse where they would find the abducted child.

"We'll go in through the roof," Kasori continued seriously, scanning the building; there was a large padlocked gate that appeared to be the sole access, nearly abutting the tideline. "We run the least risk that way, and the building's not too big; we should be able to search it pretty fast." Henyara peered down at the roof.

"I see two guards down there. You take the left, I'll take the right?"

"Deal. But be quiet about it. We don't want to alert whoever's on the inside." He brought them in on an arcing trajectory, accelerating towards the roof at a weak angle. "You take the ice disk," he added before jumping off, launching himself towards the guard watching the northern side of the building, at least thirty feet below.

Spreading his arms, he could feel the water all around him, permeating the air through which he was tumbling; with practiced ease, he pulled the water into a swirling cloud of vapor beneath his feet, opposing the energy of his fall just enough so that he landed utterly without injury next to the guard, who had a dao sword scabbarded at his back and a dagger on his belt.

Bending his knees to absorb the remainder of the impact, he sprang up, turning so that he was facing in the opposite direction as the guard, seizing the latter's left shoulder with his left hand and whipping his left leg back, simultaneously leaning forward and applying pressure to the guard's shoulder as he swept out his leg.

The guard fell to the ground with an _oomph_, and Kasori immediately dropped on top of him, using the momentum of his kick to drive his right knee down onto the man's throat, his right hand sliding over his mouth to keep him from making even the remotest sound.

"Shh…" Kasori shushed him softly as the man began to black out from hypoxia. Kasori kept up the pressure until the man's eyes rolled back into his skull and he ceased fighting; then, he simply stood back up and looked around: Henyara had knocked out the other guard and was walking over to him, holding stream of water between her hands.

"Here's your disk," she remarked, passing him the stream.

"Thanks," Kasori replied, taking it and recompressing it into a frozen band around his arm.

"I saw a window on the western façade as we were coming down," Henyara continued. "It was open. We can get in through there." Kasori nodded, and she led the way to the western edge of the roof.

"Here it is," she said, leaning over and pointing down. There was indeed a window perhaps six feet below.

"I'll go first," said Kasori, stepping up to the edge and deftly dropping over it, hanging by his hands; he exhaled and dropped, catching the windowsill on his way down, arresting his fall with a jolt; inhaling and exhaling again, he hoisted himself through, dropping maybe four feet onto a large crate. After looking around to see if anyone in the immediate vicinity had spotted his entrance, he reached back through the window and signaled Henyara; she swiftly joined him.

"Now what?" Henyara asked in a hushed voice, glancing around.

"Since that big gate seems to be the only way in, I'm guessing they'll be keeping the boy near the back, where it's more secure," Kasori answered thoughtfully.

"Let's get away from the window," Henyara suggested, "There's a little light coming through." Kasori nodded, and they slid away from the window; the warehouse was full of big stacks of crates arranged like walls of a maze, so they hopped from stack to stack, making their way southward. They spotted several guards along the way, patrolling with torches and swords, a couple with spears.

_Not very smart_, Kasori thought: Using spears in such an enclosed space would be difficult at best, and the haphazard organization of these stacks of crates made it too easy for them to sneak their way along. In barely a minute, they had reached the southern wall.

"There!" Henyara whispered, pointing towards the southeast corner: In a little alcove formed from the crates, two men, armed with spears, stood flanking a little boy who was tied up to a wooden support beam. A third man, a vicious-looking brute with wispy hair and burn scars all along his mostly shaven head, was speaking with the two guards:

"…keep him tied this time! If he gets away again, so help me I'll tan your hides! I don't care if he _is_ a three-year-old kid — _keep…him…tied!_"

"I'm guessing that's Nolin," Henyara observed.

"Probably," Kasori muttered in reply. "Let's get that kid. I'll move a little closer — over to those crates. You hit them from the front."

"My pleasure," she growled; they split, creeping along the crates, Kasori moving east, hopping carefully from one stack to a second which rose up directly alongside the guards; and Henyara moving south along the stacks, getting set to —

Just as Kasori was readying himself to spring, a horrible creaking sound split the still night air, and suddenly there was a crash, and he heard Henyara gasp loudly: He looked around and saw that her leg had fallen through the wooden lid of a large crate, and she was attempting to wrestle it free. _The wood must be rotted!_

Nolin and his two guards started; the former spun on his heel, his fiendish eyes raking the surrounding stacks…

"There!" he yowled, pointing at Henyara, who was just managing to rip her leg free; Kasori could see that her pants leg was torn, and there was a rivulet of blood running down her leg. "Intruder! Get her!" The two guards advanced, spears at the ready.

Kasori slipped off the crate, extending his foot to connect directly with one guard's back, leveling him to the ground; Kasori immediately sprang up and launched a straight kick to Nolin's face, connecting forcefully with the man's nose, which broke audibly. Nolin retreated, hissing furiously, blood streaming from his nose as Kasori turned and launched a rear low kick back at the guard he had floored, connecting with his temple and knocking him out.

The other guard, apparently flabbergasted by the sudden appearance of yet another shadowy intruder, hesitated, and Henyara launched herself off her crate, landing atop him and sending him careening to the ground, his spear rolling off into the shadows. She locked the man in a blood choke, and he quickly blacked out.

"Are you okay?" Kasori shot to her as he darted away from Nolin's now drawn sword.

"Fine!" Henyara growled, though the pain was clear in her voice; she must have hurt her leg further in jumping from such a height and crashing into the guard.

Kasori jumped back from another slash, reaching around to the small of his back and drawing the orca bone knife that his father had given him two years ago for his birthday, settling it into a reverse grip; as Nolin lunged at him again, sword darting forward in a jab at his chest, Kasori sidestepped, bringing up the bone knife to deflect the blade and guide it off course as Kasori planted his left foot back and fired his right foot in a kick to Nolin's armpit, his right hand clamping to the underside of his sword hand.

The blow jarred Nolin's grip on his weapon, which slid smoothly into Kasori's fingers; Kasori dropped down, sinking his weight and firing a jab into Nolin's gut, augmenting the blow with the hilt of the sword. Nolin staggered back, tripping over his own feet and landing in a heap next to the incarcerated little boy, who was now laughing hysterically at the whole affair.

"More guards over here!" Henyara called; Kasori spun around, switching the dao sword into a forward grip: Indeed, he could hear the clambering footsteps of several guards rushing to their location, undoubtedly alerted by the ruckus and by Nolin's initial yell.

"There's no time to deal with them!" Kasori cried, he glanced briefly back at Nolin, who was still struggling to rise to his feet. "Let's get the kid and get out!"

"Then caution's to the wind," Henyara growled resolvedly: She pushed herself to her feet, adopting a stance: With a vast sweeping gesture, Kasori watched as his ice disk soared off of his arm and out from under his sleeve, melting and decompressing as it went, joining a large stream of water that Henyara was pulling from the air; with another gesture, Henyara sent the water crashing towards the space between two stacks of crates that formed the only ground-level passage to the rest of the warehouse in the form of a wall that she subsequently froze in place, forming a solid barrier against the oncoming guards.

"Nice work!" Kasori praised her, impressed. "You've been working on pulling water from the air!"

"I had to — you wouldn't get off my case about it!" she shot back.

"If you two Water Tribe savages are quite fidished," came Nolin's drawling, oily voice, marred slightly by his broken nose, "I thig you ought to surredder dow." Henyara glanced in his direction, and Kasori saw her eyes dilate with shock and terror; he turned slowly and immediately dropped the dao sword:

Nolin was kneeling behind the imprisoned child, who was no longer laughing but rather crying softly as the man held a dagger against his throat.

"You monster," Henyara whispered, still utterly shocked.

"You wouldn't," Kasori breathed, unable to comprehend that this man was truly threatening them with the life of a three-year-old boy.

"If you're willig to bet this precious child's life od that," Nolin sneered with a sinister grin, rendered all the more hideous by the blood streaming from his mutilated nose, "thed by all meads…" He gestured with his free hand, inviting them to try something, anything.

"How could you do something like this?" Henyara spat venomously, her shock giving way to unbridled fury; she was breathing hard and had dropped back on her uninjured knee, cradling her wounded leg. Kasori could see splinters of rotten wood sticking out of the mesh of blood and fabric. Now he could hear the sound of metal scraping against the wall of ice that she had erected against the other guards: They were trying to break through.

They had to get the kid and get out before that happened.

Kasori's mind worked furiously. He simply couldn't allow this child to be harmed: It was unacceptable under normal circumstances, and even more so when it was Kasori's own actions that had jeopardized him.

But what could he do? If he used his bending, there was no guarantee that he could land a strike before Nolin did the unthinkable, or without causing him to accidentally do so. One wrong move, and even a simple jerk could mean the end of that boy's life.

What could he do with a steel blade pressed against the kid's throat? His hands were tied.

_…Maybe not…_

"Drop the dife, kid!" Nolin was snarling. "Do it dow before I slit the little tyke's throat right id frod of you! You've lost!"

Kasori slowly sheathed his knife.

"I can't let that happen," he said quietly.

"Good boy," Nolin praised him unctuously. "Dow why dod you do yourself a favor and go sit dowd dext to your girlfried over there and wait till the rest of my med get through to gut you all like the pesky savages you are!" He ended the sentence with a snarl that Kasori supposed was supposed to be intimidating.

"I can't allow that, either," Kasori replied calmly. He used the surprised pause that followed to shift his stance ever so slightly, breathing deeply and closing his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Henyara hissed, alarmed, "This is a _kid's life _you're gambling with!"

"It's no gamble," Kasori assured her softly. He inhaled slowly and exhaled even more so; once more he could feel the water all around him, permeating the air, binding them all together in its embrace; he pricked it with his mind, and he could sense each microscopic droplet bending to his will.

Henyara gave a small gasp, and Kasori calmly opened his eyes: Nolin was pressing the blade to the boy's throat, and a small bead of blood had appeared there; the child was no longer crying, as though he could sense that the slightest motion mind end his life.

"You dod have a chadse, boy!" Nolin growled.

"That's where you're wrong," Kasori replied, in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. He closed his eyes and inhaled again, feeling the water all around harmonize its energy with his…even the water within Nolin's own body.

Kasori opened his eyes, exhaled softly, and lifted two fingers on his left hand: Immediately, Nolin's hand moved, drawn by the same smooth, inexorable force by which waterbenders commanded water, pulling the knife harmlessly away from the little boy's neck.

Nolin's eyes dilated in sheer astonishment – and not a small amount of horror – as his very body betrayed him: His hand opened, letting the knife fall to the ground, and then twisted and pinioned itself into a lock behind his back.

"W-What sorcery is this?!" Nolin gasped; Kasori inhaled and exhaled once more and then turned his hand palm up, raising it slowly: Nolin's legs began moving, lifting him smoothly up into a standing position, following the movement of Kasori's hand. With his free hand, Kasori summoned a little stream of water from the air and bent it over to Nolin, whose other hand was now joining its twin in position behind his back; the stream looped around his hands, freezing them in place.

With a final breath, Kasori swept his left hand sideways, and Nolin was flung against the wall by some unseen power, hard enough to knock him out.

Exhaling serenely, and taking a second to let the awesome sense of power that had filled him ebb away, Kasori stepped forward and knelt by the terrified boy.

"It's okay," he promised him, reaching around with one hand to untie him while he stroked the poor child's hair with his other hand. "Let me get that," he added, taking the latter hand and wiping away the little bead of blood with one finger.

He could sense the water in that droplet of blood, too; the blood began to glow blue-white as Kasori pressed it back against the little cut, healing it in an instant and letting the blood vanish into thin air.

The ropes fell away, and the kid wrapped his arms around Kasori's neck; he now began to sob into his shoulder, all of the pent of horror flooding out and staining Kasori's garbs wet with tears.

Kasori picked the boy up in one arm and returned to Henyara, kneeling by her and healing her leg with a streamlet of water summoned from the air.

"Are you all right?" he asked as he finished and they both stood.

"Yeah," she muttered, staring at him almost suspiciously. "What — ?"

"No time," he interrupted her, turning his attention to the ice wall, where the banging had intensified and cracks were beginning to form. "Let's get out of here first." Henyara looked like she was about to argue, but then she simply nodded.

Kasori turned to the wall of ice and lifted his hand: Upon his mental command, the ice melted instantly and blasted forward with incredible force, sweeping away the guards who had been gathered there and pulverizing straight through the stacks of crates that blocked its path, cleaving a hallway of ravaged wood straight towards the gate.

"Let's go," Kasori said calmly, breaking into a run as he followed the wave, Henyara right behind him. They traversed the entire length of the warehouse, reaching the gate utterly unimpeded.

"Will you hold him while I open the exit?" Kasori asked, turning to Henyara; she nodded. Kasori passed the boy to her and then turned back to the gate. He had another band of compressed ice on his left arm, which he now waterbent up his arm and into his hand, refreezing it in the form of a sword, which he then used to slice cleanly through the thick metal padlock.

Returning his sword to his upper arm, he pushed the door open and gestured for Henyara to follow him; they raced out onto the beach.

"Kas…" Henyara began apprehensively, "what about that boat?" Kasori looked at her and smiled, even though he knew she couldn't see it behind his mask.

"What boat?" he asked, lifting his hand: The water beneath the sloop, which was turning towards them, rocketed upward in a gigantic spike of solid ice straight through the center of the boat, sending splinters of wood spinning off into the air.

"One more problem," Henyara said, turning back to face the gate; three guards had darted outside, swords drawn, and many more were pushing the doors open wider.

"I've got it," Kasori replied, turning and planting his feet squarely in position. He swept his hands back, summoning up a massive wave from the cove; lunging forward and sinking his weight onto his forward foot, he pushed the wave forward, leading the water in a powerful arc overtop himself and Henyara; the wave crashed into the guards, blasting them back through the gate and into the warehouse, the tail end of the wave rising into a solid block of ice that sealed the entrance.

"Let's get out of here," Kasori suggested.

"Don't need to tell me twice," Henyara muttered. She then addressed the little boy she was cradling in her arms: "Can you tell us where you live?"

* * *

"There's the house," Henyara said, pointing towards the little house on the end of the dirty street. She and Kasori approached it in the dim moonlight, the little boy now walking himself. They reached the door, and the two waterbenders looked at each other.

"I guess we just knock," Kasori suggested. He reached out with one hand and knocked on the door. They waited…and nothing happened.

"She's probably scared to open the door at night," Henyara mused.

"You're right," Kasori agreed. Then the little boy whacked on the door with his tiny fist.

"GRAMMA!" he wailed in a piercing voice that made Kasori and Henyara reflexively jump back. They looked at each other, but before they could do any more, the door flew open, and the elderly woman they had seen that morning stood in the doorway, eyes wide with hope.

"Rozhin!" she cried ecstatically; she made to take her grandchild into her arms, but paused abruptly when she spotted Kasori and Henyara.

Kasori lowered the hood and mask of his cowl and raised his hands in a sign of peace.

"Don't be afraid," he urged her, "We've brought your grandson back to you."

"Gramma!" the little boy shrieked again, jumping into her arms; she held him close, and Kasori saw tears streaming down her cheek.

"W-Who are you, young man?" she asked Kasori tearfully.

"Just a friend," Kasori replied with a smile. "Don't worry: Your debt has been cleared away. You and your family are safe."

"But stay away from Panqin in the future," Henyara advised.

"Every day," the woman answered after a brief pause, "I rue the contract my dear son made with those horrid men. Perhaps if it had not been made, he would not have felt obliged to go on such a dangerous trip just to raise money, and perhaps…" She trailed off, her tears flowing more strongly.

"I am sorry for all that's happened to your family," Kasori told her sincerely. "I wish there was more that we could do for you — "

"Nonsense, young one!" the woman interrupted him, her voice suddenly strong. "You have brought me back my grandson, my only family, my life and my light! You have brought peace to what is left of my family. That is the greatest gift you could possibly have given me." She cocked her head at him curiously.

"But you are so young to be undertaking such tasks. What drives you to do this, child?"

Taken aback, Kasori didn't answer immediately. The answer that rose, unbidden, in his mind, the answer that he could not tell her, was that he was the Avatar, and it was his sworn duty, _ex officio _and _ex corde_, to serve others.

The answer he gave was no less true: "The world is full of wrongs. It's the job of everyone to do their part to make them right. I just want to do my part." The elderly woman placed a hand on his shoulder; there was a strange sagacity in her gaze, almost as though she knew who he was.

"You will do great things, young one," she told him. "Thank you again. I must put Rozhin to bed — he has had a very long day."

"Of course," Kasori said, bowing; Henyara mimicked him, and the woman bowed her head and closed the door. "Let's get back to the ship," Kasori said, making to leave; Henyara stopped him, seizing his arm and pulling him into the shadows at the edge of the street. She removed her hood and mask; her face was alive with anger.

"Not so fast, smooth-talker," she growled, "First you're gonna explain something to me."

"Explain what?" asked Kasori, feigning confusion.

"You know full well _what!_" she retorted, jabbing him in the chest with her finger. "Back there in the warehouse — what did you do to Nolin? One moment he had a knife to that kid's throat, the next minute, he's against the wall, restrained and unconscious! _What did you do?_"

"All right!" said Kasori, exasperated by her prying tone, "I'll tell you." He sighed, wondering where to begin. It wasn't a story he had ever prepared to tell anyone — he had always hoped that he would never be driven to use this strange and powerful yet sinister ability that he had discovered so long ago. But destiny evidently had other plans…

"You remember that blizzard — when we were three? I got lost in it, out on the tundra."

"Yeah — only because our parents tell each other that story every _month_. Why?"

"Well…they found me the next morning in a little igloo I'd made, but that's not where I first tried to weather the storm. I tried a cave first. But…it wasn't empty: Some wolves had been separated from their pack and were trying to shelter themselves there, where it was dry and warm. They saw me as an intruder, and they attacked."

"How did you get away?" Henyara asked. Kasori was surprised that she hadn't guessed the answer, but then he realized that she had: She wanted him to say it. He sighed again.

"It was a full moon," he answered in a low, almost zombielike tone, staring down at his feet, the memories of that strange night flooding back. "I could feel its power enriching me, enhancing my waterbending, and when the wolves attacked me…I-I panicked. I bent the only water I could sense around me."

He looked up at her: Her eyes were riveted on him with a mixture of shock and suspicion. "I bent the water inside the wolves' bodies."

"You did _what?_" asked Henyara, aghast.

"Remember what I told you and the other kids back at the North Pole when I was teaching you to pull water out of the air?" Kasori asked quickly. "I told you that a waterbender can bend water no matter how or where it occurs, and there's water in every living being."

"You can bend the water _inside people?_ That's…" Henyara trailed off, apparently unable to conjure a word that would adequately describe it. "…freakish," she finally decided.

"I know," Kasori agreed, ducking his head again.

"I mean," continued Henyara, "do you know what you could _do_ to people with that kind of power — ?"

"Of course I do, Henyara!" Kasori shot at her, looking up suddenly. "Why do you think I've kept this a secret? Why do you think I didn't _tell_ anyone?" He sighed for a third time.

"But I couldn't just ignore it," he added. "Like it or not, this power is a facet of waterbending, and I'm a waterbender."

"So am I, Kas, but — "

"But what, Henyara? I knew that this power could save lives — like it did tonight! I knew that if I had this power, it would be wrong to not learn how to at the very least control it, so that I would never use it in panic again.

"Those wolves…" Kasori buried his face in his hands, pained by the memory. "I know they were just animals, and that they were intent on eating me, but…when I flung them against the cave wall on accident, I…I could just tell that they were in extreme pain. I was _torturing_ them. It freaked me out so much that I ran, just…_ran_, back out into the blizzard. That's when I built the snow shelter the tribesmen found me in the next morning.

"I never wanted to inflict pain like that on a person, so I never touched that power again until I was ten, after I'd mastered everything else in waterbending. Then I started training, cautiously; at first, I could only do it under the full moon, and I couldn't avoid causing pain, but pretty soon, I was able to do it anytime, even in broad daylight, and I could make the movements I imposed fluid and innocuous, so that the process was harmless.

"I started with lemmings and small animals like that, and moved up to larger ones. But I _never_ used it on a human being until tonight. I had vowed never to use it unless absolutely necessary." There was silence. Kasori dropped his hands and looked at Henyara; she was staring at him, her face unreadable.

"Henyara — "

"Kas." She laid a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to explain any more. I…I understand. You just freaked me out is all."

"So…you get why I used it?"

"Yeah, I do. You're right: Without that weird power of yours, we probably wouldn't've gotten – what was his name, Rozhin? – out of there. You saved a kid's life, and, honestly, that's all that matters to me.

"Just don't freak me out again," she added, giving him a friendly punch on the arm. "You're weird enough already without having freaky powers to go with it!"

"Haha," Kasori managed to laugh weakly, "Sure thing." _What's she gonna say when she finds out I'm the Avatar?_ he wondered.

"C'mon," she said warmly, giving him a smile, "Let's get back to the ship before our dads notice we're gone."

"Yeah…good idea."

As they set off, Kasori reflected on how glad he was that she didn't know the second half of the story: After he had left the cave and built the snow shelter, he had still been freezing cold, inches from death…

That…that was the first time that he had ever firebent. He had managed to conjure enough flames to keep himself warm, enough to stay alive.

That night, he had discovered he was the Avatar.


	4. Bk I, Ch 3, The Aftermath

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 3: **_**The Aftermath**_

Kasori opened his eyes slowly; he found himself surrounded by ice and snow, atop a jutting cliff overlooking the ocean; above him, the sky was studded with stars, but the moon was nowhere to be seen. From the shading of the light, he recognized it as "daytime" during polar night — he was at the North Pole.

Unconcerned, Kasori walked over to the edge of the promontory, sitting down and simply enjoying the view. He knew that she would be arriving soon —

"Welcome, Kas." _Bingo_. He stood up again, turned, and bowed, smiling as he greeted an old friend.

"Avatar Yuecu! It's been a while."

"Yes, it has," replied the spirit of his predecessor, a beautiful but sad-looking young woman, her Air Nomad tattoos glowing in the starlight. "But you have been busy, and now I sense that there is something on your mind that you need unburdened."

"Yes," Kasori confessed; they sat down opposite each other on the promontory. "I'm a little confused about this whole Rozhin situation," Kasori admitted to her. "I don't regret saving him, but I can't help but fear that I've just made a terrible mistake."

"By intervening in affairs that you cannot completely control?"

"Yes."

Avatar Yuecu smiled gently: "Avatar Kasori, what situations _can_ you control?" Kas smiled and closed his eyes, nodding as he spoke.

"I understand your meaning…"

"But you have doubts."

"Yes. I know that I don't have complete control over any situation I confront, but I do have _some_ control, and I have the responsibility to use that control wisely."

"This is true."

"And I'm terrified," Kasori confessed, "that I screwed up this time. What if what I did comes back to haunt Rozhin and his grandmother? I mean — I paid their debt, and I don't think Panqin will hold a grudge against them, but every time I tell myself that, I remember how Nolin was ruthless enough to be willing to _kill_ a child!"

"You are worried that you miscalculated — committed a grave error," Avatar Yuecu summarized.

"Yes."

"All Avatars make mistakes, Kas. I myself made many — many more than I should have, many of which still haunt me, even in death." A terribly pained look came into her eye. "Mistakes that you, perhaps, as my successor, will have to pay for. But the point is that the fear of making mistakes, if left unchecked, will paralyze you from taking any action at all, and the Avatar must not be afraid to take action. I was once, and the results were devastating."

"What happened?" Kasori asked. The pained look in her eyes intensified, and Avatar Yuecu looked away from him — something she had never done in the many years he had been conversing with her in spirit.

"That…is a story for a later day," she managed to say. It was clear that the memory was agonizing, so Kasori dropped the matter; they lapsed into momentary silence while Yuecu composed herself. Then she continued: "Kas, as the Avatar, you must be active and decisive in shaping the world around you for the better. You cannot be afraid to take action where action is needed."

"But I also can't rush into action, either," Kasori argued.

"That is also true," Avatar Yuecu said, smiling. "After all, as the saying goes: 'It is not good to have zeal without knowledge.' You must not act rashly, or allow your enthusiasm or other passions supersede your better judgment."

"I'm worried that that's exactly what happened with Rozhin," Kasori admitted. "I keep telling myself that it was the right thing to do, going after him, but the more I think about it, the more I start to wonder whether it wasn't just an absurdly hasty move on my part. I mean, Panqin _is_ a businessman — he doesn't go around hurting children, so he wasn't in any real danger, right?"

"But was young Rozhin not in the custody of a man who you just related was willing to place a knife to his throat?"

"That's true…" Kasori muttered; he hadn't really thought of that. "But Nolin was just one guy — even Shian Jo seemed to think he was over the top, and Shian Jo is one of Panqin's top enforcers."

"It only takes 'one guy' to cause irreparable damage. Panqin has proven that much himself."

"That's true too," Kasori had to admit; he sighed. "So…was I right to pull Rozhin out of there?"

"That depends on what you mean by _right_." Kasori raised his eyebrows, and Yuecu laughed. "All right, I'll be a little less cryptic: I think it was a _morally_ right action to rescue a child from the dangerous clutches of, at best, a group of hoodlums and, at worst, a homicidal maniac. Whether the decision was _tactically_ right — only time will tell. Not even twelve hours have passed since you rescued Rozhin.

"My advice to you on that score, Kas, is to simply stay alert, and be ready to intervene again if necessary."

"This job certainly isn't easy," Kasori observed archly. Avatar Yuecu laughed again.

"No, it certainly isn't," she agreed. "You must learn to find balance between controlling your surroundings and letting them guide themselves, between passivity and dominance, between action and reaction. You must flow with life's hurdles, and shape them at the same time."

"Sounds a lot like waterbending," Kasori remarked half-jocularly.

"Exactly," Yuecu said, beaming at him, "that's how I know you'll be good at it."

"I wish I shared your confidence," Kasori admitted seriously. Avatar Yuecu placed her hand gently on his shoulder.

"Avatar Kasori," she said deliberately, "I assure you that you are a far greater Avatar right now than I ever was in my entire lifetime, and you will only grow from here."

"You must be exaggerating, Avatar Yuecu."

"I wish that I were, Kas," she replied sadly, "but no: I made so many mistakes during my short time as Avatar. I was not ready for the burdens it entailed, and I was…overwhelmed. That is why I came to you so early in your life: I wanted you to be prepared for the many tribulations that you will have to undergo as the Avatar.

"And you are ready," she concluded, beaming at him once more. "You do not yet realize it, but your destiny will soon be upon you. You have entered the twilight of your incubation, as it were: Soon, the entire world will know you as Avatar."

"Yeah…great…" Kasori muttered, not bothering to attempt to disguise his lack of zeal.

"You are worried," Avatar Yuecu observed tonelessly.

"Not so much _worried_ as…_nervous_," Kasori clarified. "I kept my identity secret at first because I was scared of how things might change when the world knew who I was. As I grew older, I continued to keep the secret so that I could train and prepare myself to be Avatar."

"And you have done that," Yuecu assured him. "I have watched your progress ever since you were seven years old and first branched out into the wide world beyond the North Pole. You have mastered the four elements — "

"Really?" interrupted Kasori, surprised, "But I've never even had a master for any other than water!"

"True, but you have trained yourself well, ever since you were a small child. Your grasp of the other elements is as natural and prodigious as your grasp of water. Trust me, as an Avatar who _did_ have a master for her three nonnative elements, I can assure you that your mastery of earth, fire, and air is top-notch."

"Even so," Kasori allowed, "it takes more than the four elements to be an Avatar. There's the Avatar State for one thing…" Avatar Yuecu paused.

"You can sense it, can't you? The Avatar State…its power…inside you."

"Yes," Kasori admitted. "Sometimes…sometimes it's just like a thought hovering at the back of my mind, just simmering beneath the surface, barely noticeable. But other times…other times it's like a raging fire in my blood, and it's all I can do to keep it from breaking free…"

"You have been putting off training in its mastery too long, Kas. I have been telling you since you were ten years old that you should begin learning to control it." Well, that was true: She had. But Kasori had refused. He hadn't wanted to take hold of that awesome power yet…or maybe ever.

He could only imagine what terrible things he could wind up doing when infused with the very power of the world itself — what if he lost control? How could a ten-year-old child wield such incredible power? How could he trust himself with that kind of might when he couldn't even figure out whether his decision to rescue one child was right?

"I just…" he tried to explain, but the words wouldn't come. He sighed. "I just don't want to do something I'll regret." Avatar Yuecu placed a hand on his shoulder again.

"That is good, Kas, but understand also that regret is a waste of your time and energy. There is an Air Nomad teaching: We cannot concern ourselves with what _was_; we must focus on what _is_. Even when you make mistakes, you must accept them, learn from them, and move on from them.

"Again I advise you, Kasori: You cannot allow the fear of making mistakes, of doing things that you will regret, become so entrenched in your heart that it paralyzes you from taking action when you are needed most."

Kasori sighed: "Okay, Avatar Yuecu. I understand."

"You feel the Avatar State's power burning within you because you are overdue in mastering it. You are beyond ready. It is time you learned."

"Do you really think so? I just…I don't feel ready to hold that kind of power, Yuecu."

"I know, Kas," she assured him warmly, "and that is precisely why I think that you _are_ ready. The wise man is suspicious of power, for power tends toward corruption. Only the fool ignores this, and you are definitely no fool. You are right to be wary of the power of the Avatar State, but wrong to deny that it is in fact a part of you. You are the Avatar, and therefore that power is yours."

"As is the responsibility to use it wisely," Kasori added.

"Correct," Yuecu replied, smiling. "The fact remains that this power will break through to the surface eventually. The only question is whether you will have learnt to wield it or not by the time it does."

Kasori considered her words for a long moment and then finally gave her his answer: "Okay, Avatar Yuecu: I'm ready to begin learning."

"Good, Kas. I was lucky to be born to the most spiritual of the four nations, and I had a wonderful teacher who instructed me a great deal in the Avatar State. I will teach you as he taught me: the seven classical methods for mastering the State. We will take things slowly, okay?"

"Okay," Kasori agreed, managing a smile.

"Good. Now that we have settled that," Yuecu continued, "we were discussing what it takes to be an Avatar. You said you were nervous about your coming destiny."

"It's not the destiny that makes me nervous exactly," Kasori explained, awkwardly scratching his head. "I accepted my destiny as Avatar a long time ago, but…every time I come to one of these ports with my father, I see firsthand all of the suffering that's gripping the world, and I wonder…how can I hope to fight it all? There's so much — so many problems, so many threats to balance and peace and justice — I just don't know where I would begin!"

Avatar Yuecu stopped him, placing a finger briefly to his lips.

"Calm yourself, Kasori," she said softly, "and listen to me. The Avatar cannot hope to right all wrongs. There is only so much within our power to do. You must shed the illusion that you will be able to bring about perfect peace."

"Isn't that my job?"

"No. Your job is to hold the world together, to protect balance and justice as best you can, and to inspire others to do the same."

"Easier said than done," Kasori muttered.

"Yes, it is. You have the hardest job in all the world. But I will tell you something, Kasori: I can imagine no one more prepared and better able to undertake it than you."

"Do you mean that, Avatar Yuecu?"

"Of course I do. Would the spirit of an Avatar lie?" she added with a laugh. Kasori smiled and bowed his head.

"Thank you, Yuecu."

Yuecu gave him a warm smile, folding her hands elegantly in her lap. "Your destiny isn't going to pounce on you when you wake up from this dream, Kasori," she assured him with a little laugh. "You still have two years to prepare yourself. Just remember — time is fleeting, and destiny is a flower that always blooms faster than we expect it to."

"Yes, Avatar Yuecu."

"Now," she continued more briskly, "we were discussing this Rozhin affair."

"Yes," Kasori said, also adopt a more businesslike tone, "your advice was to simply remain diligent."

"It was," Avatar Yuecu affirmed, "Remain poised. I am sure you will know if and when you must act."

"That might be hard — we're probably leaving for the North Pole as we speak." Before Kasori could say any more, he noticed something: The ocean to his left was beginning to vanish into a strange, colorless fog, and all of a sudden, he could see little farther than a few feet around him; the sensation of cold from the snow he was sitting on had totally disappeared, and even the outline of Avatar Yuecu was blurring.

"Looks like your dream is ending," she observed.

"I must be waking up," Kasori muttered.

"Then until we meet again, Avatar Kasori."

"Goodbye, Avatar Yuecu." He barely managed to bow before blinking and realizing that he was now in his hammock below deck; blinking a few more times, he spotted Henyara leaning over him, a curious expression on her face.

"You looked like you were talking in your sleep," she remarked, noticing that he was awake, "but I couldn't make out what you were saying." _Thank goodness…_

"Weird dream," he brushed it off, straightening up, "Already gone. So what time is it?"

"Just past dawn."

"So we've set sail for the North Pole?"

"Uh, no…"

"Why not? We always leave at dawn."

"You're gonna wanna see this yourself…" He swung out of his hammock and followed her up to the main deck. "Check it out," she said, pointing out to sea; he followed her gesture and saw a long double row of ships in staggered line encircling the port. Their flags were those of the Earth Kingdom navy.

"What's goin' on?" Kasori asked, rubbing his eyes a little sleepily.

"The Earth Kingdom navy has locked down the entire port," said his father, Banaq, coming up behind him.

"Why?"

"From what the sailor who told us to stay aboard our ship told me, a ship running contraband for a pirate-smuggler ring operating out of this town ran afoul of a navy ship running maneuvers in the northern sea. Push came to shove, the pirate ship was sunk, and a dozen people were dead, including two sailors.

"Turns out an entire fleet was running maneuvers out here, and when that one ship linked up with the others, they launched a general blockade of the entire port until they can figure out who's behind the ring that dispatched that ship. No vessels are to be allowed in or out of Xing Fong, so it looks like we're gonna be here a little while."

"How long?" Henyara asked grumpily, "This town blows."

"Henyara!" scolded her father Mako as he walked by.

"I don't imagine much longer than a few days," Banaq answered conciliatorily, "The sailor I spoke with seemed quite confident that they would soon have the perpetrators in hand. In the interim, we should remain on the ship as much as possible." He walked off, and Kasori spotted something down on the docks. He nudged Henyara's arm and pointed.

"I think the navy may already have found the perpetrator," he muttered. Henyara followed his gesture: A few piers down, at the very edge of the marketplace, an Earth Kingdom sailor, in his official navy uniform signifying that he held the rank of lieutenant, was conversing with a rather well-dressed, middle-aged man who carried a polished wooden walking staff and sported a crescent-shaped scar over his left eye.

"Who's that?" Henyara asked.

"That," Kasori answered, "is Panqin himself."

"He looks like an overage dandy," Henyara pronounced. Kasori couldn't help but laugh. The sailor turned away from Panqin, returning to a group of other sailors – ensigns, by their uniforms – while Panqin turned…and caught Kasori's eye. He could have sworn that the gangster was staring directly at him.

"What the — he's coming this way!" Henyara exclaimed; indeed, Panqin had directed his feet swiftly westward, following the docks towards the pier at which their ship was anchored. He turned down the pier and made his way swiftly towards the ramp leading to the ship's deck. He ascended the ramp, his eyes locked on Kasori's the entire way, but found his way impeded by Banaq.

"What is your business here?" Banaq demanded of him, in a tone far colder than any Kasori had ever heard him employ.

"Oh, forgive me, my good sir," replied Panqin in a smooth, unctuous voice, "I must ask — is that your boy there?" He pointed at Kasori, who stared back, managing to repress his surprise. _How could he…?_

"What makes you ask that?" Banaq asked, also disguising any surprise he might have felt.

"Well, the resemblance is uncanny," Panqin remarked, as though it was absurdly obvious. "Except for the _eyes_," Panqin added, suddenly very serious, staring at Kasori as though his gaze could pierce straight through to his soul. "Very unusual — a green-eyed waterbender…"

"What makes you think I'm a waterbender?" asked Kasori, coming up to the ramp, Henyara following behind.

"Oh, I can always tell a bender from a nonbender…like your father here," Panqin said silkily, with a grin that, had Kasori not known the man's occupation, would have been charming. "I always know _power_ when I see it…"

"Enough!" barked Banaq, "I know who you are, Panqin, and I do not want you near me, my ship, or especially my son. Leave now, and there will be no trouble."

"Trouble, trouble, who's talking of trouble?" Panqin asked good-naturedly. "I thought this was a simple chat!"

"Nothing is a simple chat with you, Panqin," Banaq retorted, "Whatever your purpose here is, spit it out and be on your way."

"Very well; you're a business man, obviously — I'm a businessman — therefore, straight to business! I wish to speak with your boy privately for a few moments."

"Absolutely not," answered Banaq immediately, "Now leave." _Me? What could Panqin want to talk about with me?_

_ Only one possible answer: He knows. He knows I was at his warehouse last night_.

"I really must speak with your boy, my good man," Panqin insisted, his tone becoming somewhat darker and adopting a dangerous note. "You see, if I don't, something may just happen to — "

"Do not threaten us, Panqin," Banaq growled, completely unintimidated, "It will not end well for you. You may be able to oppress the people of this town through fear, but not the Water Tribe. We do not stand for bullies."

"I admire your intrepidity," Panqin responded, his voice now flat and pointed; apparently all charades of cordiality had been dispensed with. "But really, I _will_ speak with the boy, one way or the other." Banaq was about to reply angrily, but Kasori stepped in, touching his father's arm and whispering in his ear:

"Dad, I think I should talk with him."

"What? Are you crazy, Kas? You know who this man is!" his father hissed in return, taking Kasori's arm and turning him away so that Panqin could not so easily eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I know, that's _why_ I wanna talk to him. I want to know what he wants. It could be more dangerous to _not_ speak with him."

"Look, Kas, I know you can take care of yourself, but I don't like the idea of you just wandering around with the kingpin of the local underworld!"

"He won't try anything, dad — he's surrounded by the navy, which is currently investigating him! I'll be fine." His father stared back at him concernedly and barely repressed a sigh.

"Are you sure about this, Kas?"

"Positive."

"Then _five minutes_ — you understand?"

"Gotcha, dad," Kasori answered his father with a small smile. He wiped the smile from his face and turned to face Panqin.

"Listen here, Panqin," Banaq addressed the gangster savagely, "My boy has agreed to talk with you for a few minutes. If you so much as _touch_ a single hair on his head…you'll gravely regret it."

"My good man," Panqin replied with a sinister smile, "_if_ I had even the remotest thought of touching a hair on your boy's head…what exactly could you do to me in retribution?"

Banaq grinned: "It won't be I who makes you regret it, Panqin." He clapped Kasori's shoulder meaningfully, and Kasori made sure to glare Panqin straight in the eyes.

The crime lord smiled more broadly: "I see. Kas, is it — ?"

"It's _Kasori_ to you," Kasori cut across him icily. _I guess he heard some of our whispering…_

"_Kasori_," Panqin corrected himself, still smiling, "shall we?" He offered his hand, which Kasori swept away.

"You have five minutes; let's go." Kasori accompanied Panqin down the ramp and the pier, into the marketplace, which, despite the blockade, was still bustling with the usual matutinal crowd.

"Your father has great faith in you to allow you to go off with me by yourself," Panqin noted once they were well-immersed in the milling throngs.

"Make one wrong move and you'll know why," Kasori assured him threateningly. Panqin laughed ostentatiously.

"You're a clever one!" he chuckled. "I think we'll get along famously — "

"Cut it with the social minutiae, Panqin," Kasori interrupted him scathingly, "I didn't agree to speak with you to exchange pleasantries."

"Why _did_ you agree to speak with me, then, young waterbender?"

"Simple: I want to know what your interest in me is."

"Ah, but I've already mentioned it: A green-eyed waterbender is _most_ unusual. The majority of your people have eyes that are blue or gray or brown — but _green?_ A strange color indeed in the Water Tribe." _Where is he going with this?_

"You risked getting your eyes gouged out by a bone knife just to talk about my eye color?" Kasori asked acerbically. "You're a bigger fool than I took you for."

"Coincidentally," Panqin continued somewhat loudly, as though aggravated by Kasori's insult, "an, ah, employee of mine had an encounter with a green-eyed waterbender just last night. You wouldn't know anything about that, now would you?"

"How could I?" asked Kasori, "You're being awfully vague."

"Perhaps I can refresh your memory, then," Panqin growled, suddenly stepping in front of him and blocking his way forward. "You paid this employee of mine – a man by the name of Nolin – a visit in a warehouse last night, with your little girlfriend from the ship back there, and you stole something that belonged to me."

"You are sadly mistaken," Kasori replied smoothly, not flinching in the slightest at Panqin's sudden aggression.

"Do not be coy with me, boy. I do not buy the fantastical coincidence that there is more than one green-eyed waterbender your age, height, and general build running around this town. I know it was you."

"And if it was — what of it?" asked Kasori silkily. Panqin's bellicosity faded, replaced with a good-natured, almost fatherly, but still terribly unctuous smile. He chuckled as though Kasori had just told him a quaint, amusing little anecdote.

"My dear boy, I do not begrudge you your little adventure. I am not interested in a couple of Water Tribe peasants who think it their duty to right the terrible wrongs of a city beyond their comprehension. I do not care that you stole back little Rozhin; I do not care that you paid his family's debt — though I do thank you for the silver: It will go to good use.

"The only thing I am interested in…is what you did to Nolin."

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Kasori with obviously affected surprise.

"You can pretend to be ignorant all you like – it's a good look for a Water Tribe peasant such as yourself – but Nolin told me a fantastic little tale of the, ah, _sorcery_, as he put it, that you performed upon him. I wish to know what exactly it was that you did."

"I think your employee is delusional," Kasori replied sweetly.

"Oh, Nolin is a brutish, ruthless, monster of a man who probably deserves to be locked in a cage to rot for the rest of his miserable life — but he is not insane. And he never forgets a face — or in this case, a pair of eyes. And he distinctly recalls _you_, in his warehouse, placing him under some spell that caused his body to act against his will. Now, Nolin may be childish enough to blame it on sorcery, but I know that it was your precious _bending_. Now tell me — what is it that you did?"

"Even if this preposterous concoction of fantasies were true," Kasori began with a scornful laugh, "why are you so interested?"

"Because Water Tribe peasants breaking into my warehouses is of no concern. But a Water Tribe peasant who can control other people's bodies with his bending? That's an interesting…_obstacle_ to my designs."

"Your five minutes are up," Kasori noted cheerfully, "Goodbye." He turned to leave; Panqin clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not walk away from me, boy!" he snarled. Kasori looked over his shoulder, calmly meeting Panqin's fiery eyes.

"You would be well advised to release me," he warned him.

"Or what? You're going to perform your _sorcery_ on me?" Kasori seized the man's hand and twisted, wrenching it into a painful wrist lock and subsequently launching a side kick that sent Panqin sprawling into the dirt and snow.

"Or _that_," Kasori spat at him. "Our conversation is over." He turned and began making his way briskly back to the Water Tribe ship.

"You'll regret that, _boy!_" Panqin shot after him; Kasori ignored him, grinning all the way.

* * *

"Wow! You kicked him into the _dirt?_ Awesome!" Henyara said appreciatively as Kasori finished relating his entire conversation with Panqin. "But what did you tell your dad?"

"I told him the truth," Kasori answered, "He was upset at first, but when I told him about Rozhin, he was fine with it all — actually said he was proud of us."

"Yeah, that sounds like your dad."

"Speaking of our adventure, though…are you up for another one tonight?"

"What?" Henyara asked, surprised, "You want to go after Panqin _again_ — after what just happened between you two and with the Earth Kingdom navy keeping the whole town under lock and key? There's even a curfew in effect."

"Yeah, I do. I want to pay a visit to that 'holding place' Shian Jo mentioned. Panqin is getting antsy — our conversation demonstrates that. With all of his assets under investigation by the navy, and us posing a threat to him by night, he'll be tying up any loose ends and trying to avoid the scrutiny of that lieutenant who's running the headhunt. Whoever's in that holding facility, he's going to move them, soon, and when he does, who knows where they'll go or what'll happen to them. But if we can break them out — it'll be one more straw to break the camel's back."

"That seems pretty risky, Kas," Henyara admitted apprehensively, "I mean — who knows what Panqin'll do when he finds out! We could be putting a lot of people in danger…"

"Actually, I don't think so," Kasori said, "I'm gonna follow up with some of the lieutenant's sailors and the city guards, but I have the feeling that Panqin's lost a lot of muscle with this blockade. If it turns out that the fire really is out in his furnace, there might be nothing he can do. Besides, with the navy's curfew and the lieutenant's men all over the place, searching for even the smallest sign of criminality, I doubt he'd consider idle threats worth the risk."

"Then why don't we just pass the information off to the navy? They'll raid the place right away."

"I agree — but I wanna make sure we wouldn't be sending them on a wild turtle-duck chase. Shian Jo may have decided to evacuate the holding place last night, after we spoke with him. We'll scout the place, and if it turns out that it's still operational, we'll call in the cavalry." Henyara rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm…I guess that could work."

"So you're in?" Henyara grinned at him.

"Of course I'm in!"

"All right. Then let's try and gather as much information on Panqin as we can today, get to bed early, and head out at midnight."

"Deal."


	5. Bk I, Ch 4, The Tipping Point

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 4: **_**The Tipping Point**_

Kasori opened his eyes, finding himself once again on the snowy promontory overlooking the placid ocean beneath the hauntingly beautiful cloth of polar night. This time, Avatar Yuecu was already waiting for him, sitting in the same exact place where she had sat the preceding morning.

"You have a big night ahead of you, Kas," she remarked as Kasori took a seat opposite her.

"Yeah…" Kasori muttered somewhat absently; her mention of his agenda had stirred several thoughts that he had been repressing all day.

"I can sense that there is a great deal on your mind, young Kasori."

"Well, we did talk about quite a bit last time," Kasori observed, "and that was only just this morning."

"But that's not what's on your mind, is it?"

Kasori sighed: "No, it's not." Avatar Yuecu gave him a_ go ahead_ gesture and an inviting smile.

"I think I'm on the verge of making a serious mistake going to Panqin's holding facility," Kasori confessed. "What Henyara said keeps sticking in my head: If Panqin does have people still holed up there, letting them go might provoke him to something drastic.

"I thought the navy's presence would mitigate his ability to respond to a threat, but when I spoke with him this morning, he seemed too aggressive. He seemed…scared. He feels more trapped than I thought, and you know what they say about trapped animals…"

"You worry that your actions may drive him to unpredictable extremes, and that he may begin to take dangerous steps to protect himself."

"Exactly," Kasori agreed. "I don't know who I could be endangering by going through with this."

"So abort your mission."

"But if I do that, we might miss a golden opportunity to bring Panqin down once and for all! I talked with as many sailors and guards as I could, and it sounds like they're having difficulty tying Panqin to the smuggling ring. The lieutenant suspects that Panqin has a secret cache where he's sequestered any incriminating contraband or documentation. If they could find that, they could take him down for good: He has no clout with the military, and the navy'll waste no time in booting him out of Xing Fong! This town could finally have a chance for normalcy."

"And you think that perhaps you might find the location of this cache by investigating the holding facility in the southwestern ruins?" Yuecu asked.

"It's a longshot," Kasori admitted, "but it's the best I've got. Panqin rules the entire city, and he's a master at hiding evidence. According to one guard I talked to, he's been arrested at least five times, and each time he secreted the evidence so that the charges were ultimately dropped. Of course, it helps that he's bought up all the arbiters who have sovereignty in the courts…

"I like the Water Tribe system better," Kasori finished with a slightly bitter growl.

"You will find that justice is a farce in many places in the world, young Avatar," Yuecu advised him sadly.

"Well, anyway, if I don't take this chance tonight, Panqin'll undoubtedly scrub the whole place top to bottom — that's assuming he hasn't already. And if Panqin beats this charge…I dunno, Yuecu. He's threatened the Water Tribe now, and that's a bolder move than I expected of him. I don't know what he's up to, but I just have a strong feeling that he needs to be brought down _tonight_."

"Sometimes an Avatar must listen to these intuitions," Yuecu said sagely.

"Even if it results in rash action?"

"There is a saying in the Fire Nation: He who tries and fails is still one step closer to success than is he who does nothing at all. It is true that sometimes it is best to do nothing and wait for a more opportune moment to take action…but it is also true that sometimes, a shot in the dark is all you will ever have, and you must _make_ the opportune moments yourself."

"Sounds like a lot of unhelpful equivocation," Kasori admitted ruefully. Avatar Yuecu smiled at him, spreading her arms.

"Welcome to the role of Avatar, my young friend," she joked. "I wish I could give you more solid advice, Kas."

"Don't belittle yourself, Yuecu," Kasori beseeched her, "You've given me a lot of wonderful advice over the years — I don't know what I would've done without you."

"You would have done what many other Avatars before you have done," Yuecu answered for him: "You would have figured it out."

"Are you sure that a 'shot in the dark' is a good call here, though?" Kasori asked her straightforwardly; he wanted a direct, honest answer. Yuecu considered the question for a long moment; then she sighed and began to speak.

"Preemption is always better than reaction, Kas: It minimizes damage and prevents problems before they begin. The trouble is that preemption is inherently based on uncertainty: It relies on predictive power, and the future is not totally knowable to any human being, not even the Avatar; preemption is therefore a gamble, and like all gambles, it carries some risk of loss…of backfire. For this reason, preemption must be carefully weighed; it must be heavily scrutinized from all angles.

"But," she added seriously, a dark, almost haunted look coming into her pale eyes, "there comes a critical moment – a tipping point, if you will – when the devices of reason and thought have exhausted their capabilities. At this moment, you must make the choice between action and inaction, and that question is ultimately a matter of faith and fate. You must take the first step into the darkness…or retreat back to the safety of the light.

"So," Avatar Yuecu concluded, speaking slowly and clearly, "the question you must ask yourself is this: Have you done everything within your power to ensure that your actions are guided by all of the knowledge, wisdom, and experience available to you? If so…then you have nothing left to do but make the choice: to act…or not."

Kasori wanted to ask her whether, in this specific case, she thought that he had done his duty in evaluating the situation, and if so, whether he should go ahead with the plan or err on the side of caution — but the light began to fade rapidly, and suddenly the only thing he could see was Avatar Yuecu's face, hazy and shimmering as though it were a reflection in a murky pool.

"The dream is ending," she said; her voice echoed as if it emanated from the end of a very long tunnel. "Good luck, Kas."

Before Kasori could say anything, before he could even lift his dream hand to call for her to come back, he blinked, and he found himself lying in his hammock. He got up quickly, heading above deck and suddenly finding himself in the middle of a rainstorm.

The sky was a deep, intimidating plumbean gray, and rain was lashing at the ships, setting masts to creaking and sails, tied as they were, to whipping; thunder crashed around him every few seconds, and lightning flared to the north, out over the ocean. Between the storm and the new moon, there was next to no light. Kasori was used to darkness from his training on the tundra, but even he had to strain a little to see clearly.

"Nice night for a raid," came Henyara's voice; she was already up on deck, staring over the side at the churning waters below. "So are we heading out or what? You seemed kinda undecided when we went to bed."

_Good question…_ Well, this was — what had Yuecu called it? The tipping point.

_Now or never, Kas. What's your choice?_

After a long moment of deliberation, he turned to face Henyara, the storm raging around them.

"Let's go."

* * *

"I see the wine cellar entrance," Henyara said, not bothering to whisper: The howling rain and booming thunder were more than adequate to muffle her voice. She pointed through the torrential veil to a dilapidated tavern, which stood amidst a smattering of heaps of blackened wood and scorched rubble. Through a breach in the corner of the tavern, a trapdoor was just barely visible from their perch on a rooftop at the edge of the ruined quarter.

"And no guards," Kas muttered, scanning the area: There was no one in sight — except for the navy patrolman who was prowling around the alleys behind them. "Maybe Panqin already rolled this place back."

"Or maybe they just went inside out of the rain," Henyara murmured disgustedly, picking at her soaking wet Water Tribe garbs. Since Panqin already knew that they were involved, they hadn't bothered with their black clothes. "Ugh, I _hate_ being this wet…"

"What?" Kasori asked, surprised in spite of himself, "You're a _waterbender!_ You live at the _North Pole_, where _everything_ is made of water! How can you possibly hate being wet?"

"I don't mind swimming or snow or ice — but this…this is just nasty," Henyara sneered, turning up her nose at her drenched garments.

"Whatever you say," Kasori said with an exasperated shrug; he had no problem with the rain. "Besides, they may not have any guards outside anyway — it _is_ supposed to be a secret place…"

"Then let's get in there and bust it up!" Henyara suggested with a smirk, punching her fist into her hand.

"Let's _not_," Kasori said quickly. "If there're still people in there, 'busting it up' might put them in danger."

"Yeah, yeah," Henyara said moodily. "Spoilsport," she added jocularly. Kasori shook his head.

"C'mon. There's a hole in the roof we can drop in through." With a swirling gesture, he summoned a disk of ice from the falling rain, and they rode it together through the air to the tavern, dropping through the roof and next to the trapdoor to the wine cellar where Panqin had his holding facility.

The trapdoor was locked with a padlock that had the appearance of having been there since the original fire: It was charred and rusted. Kasori drew his ice sword and sliced cleanly through the lock. They opened the door and carefully descended the staircase obscured beneath it.

The darkness was nearly impenetrable as they entered the wine cellar; Kasori expected to see – or, more likely, hear – someone, but the room seemed totally empty. He closed his eyes and opened his mind to the water that permeated the air, sensing for disturbances that would indicate a presence…

He could "see" the room around him, an exceedingly ordinary wine cellar filled with wine racks and barrels and a few scattered boxes; he could sense Henyara next to him, but there was no one else.

"There's nobody here," he muttered aloud.

"I found a lantern over here," Henyara said, fumbling around to his right. "And some flint! Hang on…" There was a scraping sound, a small shower of sparks, and then a flame burst into life in the lantern, spreading a dim orange glow throughout the room.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to see. There _definitely_ wasn't anyone else in the room.

"Panqin must've beaten us here," Kasori murmured disappointedly.

"This is weird, though," Henyara mused, picking up the lantern and holding it high, swiveling slowly to cast its light in an arc, surveying the farther corners of the cellar. The thunder boomed above, and the staccato patter of rain was surprisingly loud through the rock ceiling. "This doesn't look like the kinda place you could keep people for an extended period of time. There's no food stores, no water – unless you count the wine – and no sewage. No beds, either. You think maybe Shian Jo lied?"

"No," Kasori replied, seized by an idea, "he definitely wasn't lying." There was a faint odor coming from the far side of the room, and he hadn't been sure what it was until Henyara had spoken. He crossed to the opposite wall and began running his hands along it, feeling over the wine racks, and tapping his feet against the stones.

"Uh…Kas? What are you doing?" Henyara asked, looking at him queerly.

"You're right," he told her, continuing with his perusal, "This place couldn't hold anybody for very long. And frankly, it's not very secret, either. There must be more to it…"

"What, like a hidden room or something?"

"Exactly…" Kasori paused, staring at the floor beneath the rightmost wine rack: There were trails in the thick layer of dust that coated everything in the cellar, and the trails were strangely scuffed. The mysterious odor was strongest here…

"I think this wine rack's been moved recently," Kasori observed; he grabbed the side of the rack and carefully pulled it in the direction of the scuff marks; Henyara approached and hoisted the lantern towards the wall that was gradually bared as the rack slid creakily across the stone floor.

"_Voila__̀_, secret door!" Henyara said when Kasori finished pulling the rack into position. Indeed, there was a nondescript wooden door that had been hidden behind the wine rack; it, too, was padlocked. Kasori sliced through the lock and opened the door, and together the two of them ventured down the hallway beyond.

The corridor was a straight shot, only a dozen or so yards long, with another door at the other end. The odor that Kasori had detected was now overwhelming — and ranker than ever.

"Okay," he whispered to Henyara, "there could still be guards in there, so be careful."

"There's no sneaking in," she observed. "If anybody's in there, they'll definitely notice the door opening…or the light shining under it," she added embarrassedly, covering the lantern with her free hand. Kasori rolled his eyes.

"Let's just do this…" He swung the door forcefully open, and they darted into the room, ready to face Panqin's thugs…

But the chamber was empty: It was large and well lit with torches, and looked nothing like the wine cellar from which they had just come; there were tables arranged neatly on the opposite side, with food still laid out on them; there were crates of supplies next to the tables, tucked away in orderly stacks in the corner, alongside barrels of water; to the immediate right of the door, there was a desk with papers strewn across it, and along the left-hand wall, rows of beds were arranged, several of which were disheveled, as though they had only recently been vacated.

"Wow," Henyara remarked, "It's actually pretty cozy down here…except for that _smell!_ What _is_ that?" She held her nose in disgust.

"Sewage," Kasori answered shortly, pointing to a door on the right-hand wall, midway between the desk and the tables, from which the malodorous smell was emanating.

"Ew," Henyara pronounced in utter revulsion.

"I'm guessing they didn't have much time to clean house before they left," Kasori observed, gesturing around at the general disorder.

"Then maybe there's still some evidence lying around…" She walked over to the desk, extinguishing the lantern and setting it down as she took up the papers and began examining them. Kasori stalked around the beds, searching for any sign of the people who had recently left them. All he found was a doll beneath the bed farthest from the door. _I guess Rozhin wasn't the only kid whose family was in the red with Panqin…_

"Hey, I've got something!"

"What?" Kasori asked eagerly, turning and trotting over to the desk, where Henyara was pulling a small scroll out of a drawer.

"Looks like letters from Panqin to whoever he left in charge of this place," Henyara answered, scanning the scroll before passing it to Kasori.

"A guy named…Kamein," Kasori read. "Wait…I know that name! He's on all the wanted posters in town! He used to run the smuggling operations until he was ID'd by the navy. I guess Panqin reassigned him to this place and put Nolin in charge so that the navy couldn't link him to Panqin."

"Smart move," Henyara muttered, rifling through the other scrolls in the drawer. "These are all communiqués between Panqin and Kamein. They go back a whole year. Looks like just updates back and forth. Reports on new arrivals…stuff like that."

"It's not enough," Kasori murmured, frustrated. "Unless they admit to _kidnapping_ the arrivals, it's arguably circumstantial."

"Even so, it's pretty incriminating. Why would they leave this lying around?"

"I guess Panqin ordered them out so fast that they didn't take the time to sterilize the place…" He paused and then added: "…which means that somebody is probably on his way here to finish the job." As if on cue, they suddenly heard the sound of footsteps fast approaching from the wine cellar.

"We left the doors open!" Henyara hissed.

"And I broke both locks," Kasori added: There was no way that whoever was coming didn't know that they were there. "I guess we do this the hard way."

"_Finally_," Henyara groaned happily, punching her hand again. There was no time to agree on a plan: A man walked through the open door right then. Kasori immediately recognized him as Kamein himself, a surprisingly small, lean man with long, impressively leonine hair.

"I _knew_ there were intruders in — !" he began, spotting them immediately, before Henyara smashed him against the opposite wall with a stream of water pulled from the air; he slumped to the ground with a groan. As he attempted to recover from the shock, Henyara splashed him with an even larger stream, freezing it around his body, encasing him in a solid block of ice.

"That was disappointingly easy," she concluded, swiping a strand of still-damp hair out from in front of her eyes. Kasori strolled over to the incapacitated thug, seized a fistful of his hair, and yanked his head back so that he could glare down into his eyes.

"You're Kamein, right?"

"Y-Yes."

"All right. You're going to answer some questions, got it?"

"Wait — you're that green-eyed waterbender that Panqin's all worked up about, aren't you?" Kasori glanced at Henyara; she shrugged.

"Yeah, that's right," he replied, tugging slightly on the man's hair. "So are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

"E-Easy way, easy way, man! Just don't do to me…wh-whatever it was you did to Nolin!" _Well, that was simple_, Kasori thought gratefully; he had no idea what "the hard way" would have been had the man resisted.

"This place used to hold all of the people Panqin kidnapped as collateral for his clients' arrears, correct?"

"Yes."

"And Panqin's moved those people because he knew we were coming, correct?"

"Y-Yeah. He said a couple Water Tribe savages – h-his word, not mine! – were on their way to interfere with his business arrangements! He told me to move 'em this morning! We were in such a rush that I had to leave it all messed up like this, so I came back to finish cleaning up."

"And where did you send the abductees?"

"There's a warehouse Panqin has down south, on the border of the river that heads farther inland into the Earth Kingdom. He has a guy in Ba Sing Se who runs some contraband that way. That's where he's sent 'em."

"Is he planning to ship them upriver?"

"N-No, he just wants 'em outta the way for now."

"Until the navy leaves."

"Yeah. They're pretty hot on his tail…"

"And I'm guessing that he's got some more incriminating evidence of the nonhuman variety stashed somewhere, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he's got a series of emergency caches where he hides the stuff when the heat's on."

"How many?"

"Five. Scattered around the city."

"Where?"

"I-I dunno! He doesn't tell anyone – not even his inner circle – where all of them are! But I do know where he is right now!" Kamein added quickly.

"Really? Where?"

"At the one cache whose location I know — it's an old mine shaft. There used to be a small iron deposit beneath the town, but it was tapped out a century ago. The mine's partially collapsed, but part of it's still standing, and Panqin converted it into his main hideout. His primary cache is there, and I know for a fact he's there right now, overseeing the final cover-up operations."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I just met with him there ten minutes ago! He sent me here to finish wrapping things up on this end."

"How long will he be there?"

"Probably all night — he was just starting a final inventory when I left."

"What kind of security does he have?"

"At least ten guys inside, and seven outside. The mine shaft entrance was converted into a small inn that quickly went out of business. Probably the fumes from the mine, and it's in a pretty bad part of town, too… Anyway, Panqin bought it through a third party, and he's been using it as his hideout ever since."

"He lives in an old mine shaft? Henyara asked, sounding disgusted. "Ew."

"He doesn't actually live there," Kamein explained, "He just uses it as a hideout if he needs to conduct business away from the authorities' eyes."

"And what kind of incriminating evidence is there?"

"Contraband, extorted gold, all sorts of condemnatory documents — threatening letters, illicit contracts, you name it! It's all there!"

"Not smart keeping it all in one place like that," Henyara observed.

"He usually conducts business from the inn, and the entrance to the mine shaft is hidden in the back storage room. I don't think he ever thought anyone would connect the dots…"

"Then today is not his lucky day," Kasori mentioned. "That's all we needed to know."

"So…" Kamein began hopefully, "…does that mean you'll let me go now?"

"Not quite," Kasori answered flatly, "Instead, you're going to tell everything you just told us to the navy lieutenant running the investigation."

"What? Why? Aren't you just gonna bust up Panqin's racket yourself?"

"I can't put your boss in jail. The lieutenant can. Seems Panqin's already built his own cage, and all that's left for us is to lock it behind him."

"But…they'll arrest me!"

"Probably," Kasori agreed unsympathetically, "but maybe not: Perhaps, if you're convincing and cooperative, the lieutenant will grant you clemency. I doubt it, but it's possible."

"B-But…"

"Would you rather we hand you back over to Panqin?" asked Henyara sweetly.

"No! No!" Kamein replied quickly.

"Didn't think so…"

"Now let's go find the lieutenant, shall we?" asked Kasori. "Can you stand?" Kamein struggled for a moment with the weight of the ice block encasing him, but he managed to push himself to his feet.

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you this," Henyara said with melodramatic severity as they moved towards the door, "but if you try anything, we _will_ kill you."

"She's kidding," Kasori assured Kamein. "But seriously, don't try anything…"

* * *

"Lieutenant Ho Ten," said the naval ensign who was escorting Kasori, Henyara, and Kamein, who was still frozen in ice, "these two Water Tribe kids say they have something important to talk to you about."

Lieutenant Ho Ten was a surly-looking, imposing, bearish man with an impressive mustache; he was decked out in full naval regalia, and the rain, which was coming down as hard as ever, was pouring over his conical hat, adding a half dour, half macabre aspect to him.

Upon exiting the tavern, Kasori and Henyara had almost immediately run into the ensign, who happened to be the patrolman they had avoided on the way in; they had explained to him the reason that they were out past curfew, presenting him with the incarcerated Kamein, and had then requested to speak with the lieutenant in charge of the investigation. They had found him on the docks, where he was conferring with a group of other low-ranking officers.

He waved them away now as Henyara pushed Kamein into the spotlight.

"What is this about, Ensign?" Lieutenant Ho Ten asked gruffly.

"These two kids captured the criminal Kamein, sir," the ensign replied crisply, "and they insisted that they had information that they wished to relay to you regarding Panqin."

"Panqin?" repeated Ho Ten, surprised and probably not a little suspicious, "What could you two children know about Panqin?"

"A lot more than you," Henyara answered sassily, arching one eyebrow at the man.

"What she means is," Kasori explained quickly, "that, first of all, we found this man, who works for Panqin, in a hidden chamber beneath a burned-out tavern in the southwestern quarter of the town…" Kasori proceeded to explain the nature of the hidden chamber, Kamein's role there, and the information that the criminal had given them regarding Panqin's hideout.

"And you believe that this criminal was telling you the truth?" Lieutenant Ho Ten asked skeptically once he had finished.

"He has no reason to lie, Lieutenant," Kasori answered smoothly. "He has no stake in Panqin's arrest, and he only stands a chance at getting clemency if he talks. Plus," he added with a small smirk, "he was far too scared to lie as specifically as he did."

"He doesn't look like a good liar, I'll give you that," the lieutenant agreed brusquely, jabbing a thick, gauntleted index finger into Kamein's forehead, forcing his head back so that he could look into his eyes, which were still wide and fearful. "Well, thank you, kids. I'll get a team together and we'll hit the hideout posthaste. You two should get back to your ship — there _is_ still a curfew in effect…"

"Actually, Lieutenant," Kasori began carefully, "we'd like to encroach upon your generosity a bit more." The officer arched an eyebrow. "We'd like to accompany you on your raid."

"Absolutely not," the lieutenant replied immediately. "I cannot allow two children to put themselves in danger like that."

"We had no problem apprehending this dweeb," Henyara pointed out, patting Kamein condescendingly on the head.

"Capturing one criminal with the element of surprise is one thing. Assaulting a building full of dangerous thugs — that is entirely different."

"We can handle ourselves quite well, Lieutenant," Kasori told him.

"Personally, I'd like to believe you. You look competent enough to me. But I am an officer of the Earth Kingdom Royal Navy, and I will not put two children in danger."

"Y'know," Henyara said testily, "in the Water Tribe, we're virtually adults."

"Well, in the Earth Kingdom," the lieutenant replied in an utterly unamused tone, "you are not."

"Lieutenant," Kasori said seriously, "I hate to be obdurate, but here's the deal: We're going to that hideout, one way or the other. We can either help you, or we can risk getting in your way."

"A hard bargainer, huh?" the lieutenant observed casually, scratching his chin. "I can tell you two are persistent, and frankly, I don't have the time to sit here arguing with you. All right, I'll bring you with me — on two conditions: Firstly, you will _follow my orders to the letter_. I am not going to be responsible if you get hurt out there."

Henyara made to object angrily, but Kasori cut across her: "Understood, Lieutenant. And second?"

"Second, I want your fathers' consent. I assume they're here on the Water Tribe ships?"

"Yes sir, they are," Kasori answered. "Be our guest. My father's name is Banaq. He's captain of that ship there…" He pointed. "…and Henyara's father is on the same ship. His name is Mako."

"Good," the lieutenant grunted, "let's go. Ensign, find Lieutenant Huan Dof. Tell him to gather up two squads and rendezvous here to await my orders. Then get yourself back to that tavern and secure the place for later investigation. Take a couple of petty officers with you."

"Yes sir!" The ensign saluted, turned on his heel, and walked off into the rain.

The lieutenant waved over a second ensign, who approached rapidly and saluted.

"Ensign, watch this prisoner until I return," Ho Ten ordered, pointing at Kamein.

"Yes sir, Lieutenant."

"Now, kids," Ho Ten finished, turning to Kas and Henyara, "let's go speak with your fathers." He turned and led the way towards the Water Tribe ship.

"Great," Henyara muttered under her breath in Kasori's ear, "My dad's a total wet blanket. He's not gonna go for this… Your dad, sure, but _mine…?_"

"Aw, you don't give him enough credit."

"He wouldn't let me go seal hunting when I was nine! Said he was 'protecting' me…"

"That was because the week before, a boy nearly drowned seal hunting! I remember — I helped my mother heal him!"

"Whatever — he's _not_ gonna go for this…"

* * *

"I can't believe my dad said yes to this," Henyara was muttering between her teeth twenty minutes later, as she and Kasori, escorting Kamein, still frozen in ice, bringing up the rearguard of the platoon of earthbenders Ho Ten was leading in tight formation towards Panqin's hideout.

"Told you," Kasori said with a sly smirk.

"Quiet," Ho Ten barked in a hushed voice; the platoon came to a halt in an extremely shadowy alley. Kasori could see between two sailors' heads: Across the street from the building that provided the alley's left wall, Panqin's inn was clearly visible by the light of the lanterns that hung over the door. Standing at the door was a lone guard. Even at this distance, Kasori could see the dagger "discreetly" scabbarded at the rear of his waist.

The storm had attenuated somewhat: There was no more lightning, the thunder was only sporadic and weak, and the rain had mitigated slightly…from a torrential cascade to a mild deluge. The sky was still completely covered in dark clouds, so the alley was utterly ensconced in darkness.

"All right," the lieutenant was continuing, "where's the icicle?"

"Right here, sailor," Henyara said perkily, shoving Kamein forward a bit. Ho Ten slipped back through the ranks of his men to confront Kamein face-to-face.

"All right, icicle," the lieutenant began, "what security are we looking at outside?"

"There's the guard there," Kamein said shakily, his teeth chattering from the ice, "and two more in each of the alleys on either side. They're patrolling back and forth — there's one of them right now!" They all looked and saw a man appear out of the alley abutting the inn on the right, look around for a moment, and then turn and vanish again into the shadows.

"What else?"

"One more guard at the rear, and another on the roof. That's it for the outside."

"And immediately inside?"

"You'll be in the reception area. There's a floor of rooms above that — there might be some guys up there, I dunno. But the rear storeroom's where you wanna go, and there're two guards in there."

"All right, that's it for now. Kids, keep an eye on him while we take care of the guards."

"Sure thing," Henyara said with mock excitement, "Babysitting the icicle! Oh boy!" Ho Ten ignored her.

"Lieutenant Huan Dof," he was continuing, "take two men, backtrack, circle around, and get up onto that roof from the side. Take out the guard there, then take the one behind the inn. Then regroup at the front. We'll handle the others." Lieutenant Huan Dof saluted, pulled two men from the group, and darted off towards the other end of the alley, vanishing around the corner.

"All right, here's our plan," Ho Ten moved on briskly, "I'll knock out the guard at the front from here, and then we rush in. From there, we split into two teams, squads one and two. In lieu of Lieutenant Huan Dof, Ensign Bueng Kua, you have point on squad two. Squad two takes right, squad one takes left. We clear the alleys and regroup back at front. Two, three minutes tops."

"Where're we?" asked Henyara drawlingly, as though already dead-set to hate the answer.

"In front, keeping an eye on Kamein."

"Why'd I bother asking?" Henyara muttered under her breath. Kasori furtively touched her arm in sympathy.

"Everyone clear?" The platoon nodded. "Then let's go." Ho Ten returned to the vanguard and gave the earth a light stomp: A small rock was ejected from the pavement, coming to hover at eyelevel, and with a punch from Ho Ten, it rocketed out into the night, lancing across the street and striking the guard in front of the inn in his Third Eye qi center.

Before the man could even hit the ground, unconscious, the platoon was already racing across the street, bifurcating as it went; the two groups plunged into the alleys, and as Kasori and Henyara dragged the now probably hypothermic Kamein to the front door, muffled thuds could be heard emanating from the darkness.

Kasori stooped down by the incapacitated guard, plucking a key off of his belt.

"Looks like this opens the front door," he whispered to Henyara, pointing to the door to the inn, which he had just seen was padlocked.

"Wonderful," Henyara growled. Kasori smirked. Barely sixty seconds later, the three groups of earthbenders had converged in front of the inn again, dropping six guards, all gagged and bound by the wrists and ankles with belts of stones, next to their unconscious comrade, grouping them all together next to the door.

"Good work, sailors," Lieutenant Ho Ten commended his men. "Petty Officer Jo Nai, remain here with the prisoners and see that they do not escape."

"Yes sir."

"The rest of you, let's move."

"Here's the key to the door," Kasori offered, extending his hand, "I found it on the first guard."

"Good," Ho Ten grunted, taking the key and swiftly unlocking the door; he pushed it open, and the earthbenders rushed in, fanning out swiftly and securing the ground floor. It was a dimly lit reception antechamber — little more than an oblong rectangular space with a counter opposite the door; there was a stairwell on the right leading upstairs to the guest rooms, and a pair of doors behind the counter.

"Clear here, sir," Lieutenant Huan Dof whispered after a quick search.

"The door on the left is the innkeeper's quarters," Kamein chattered in a hushed, staccato voice, "The door on the right is the storeroom."

"Squad one, with me," Ho Ten ordered rapidly, "We'll secure the storeroom. Lieutenant, take squad two and secure the innkeeper's quarters."

"Yes sir," replied Huan Dof. The earthbenders once again split up, rushing through the doors simultaneously; from the right-hand door, Kasori could hear a sequence of thumps, but from the left, there was only the sound of the sailors' footsteps. Thirty seconds later, squad two returned to the antechamber, and so did Ho Ten.

"Innkeeper's quarters clear, sir," Huan Dof reported.

"The storeroom guards are neutralized," Ho Ten replied. "Huan Dof, take two men and search upstairs. When you're finished, regroup and hold here. The rest of us will move on to the hideout proper."

"Yes sir." Huan Dof departed rapidly with his two men in tow.

"The rest of you, in here," continued Ho Ten, gesturing brusquely for the others to enter the storeroom with him. Kasori and Henyara followed the earthbenders, pushing Kamein ahead of them. The storeroom was little more than another rectangular space stacked with boxes; a small partition of crates blocked their view of the opposite wall, and when they rounded its corner, they saw squad one securing the two guards, who were bound and gagged, in a huddle against the far wall.

Ho Ten was kneeling at a large trapdoor, unlocking it with a key he had filched off of one of the guards; there was a large box haphazardly strewn to the side, as though it had been covering the trapdoor and had been rudely shoved aside. Ho Ten removed the lock and set it aside, too; then, he looked up and glared at Kamein.

"Okay, icicle man, what're we looking at down here?"

"The staircase under the trapdoor leads to a single narrow corridor," Kamein answered slowly, his teeth chattering violently every other word. He suddenly had to stop as the chattering became so strong that it was paralyzing: He could not speak for several seconds.

"For crying out loud," the lieutenant groaned, rolling his eyes, "are either of you healers? Can you fix this?"

"Sure thing," Kasori said; he touched two fingers to the ice surrounding the man's body and exhaled, sending a surge of energy through the ice – which glowed briefly – and into the man's body, warming him.

"Whoo…" Kamein sighed, his chattering coming to an abrupt halt. "Thanks kid — "

"Focus, icicle man!" the lieutenant snapped.

"Oh, right — anyway, the hallway leads to a door. On the other side is a chamber where the miners used to gather before splitting off into various tunnels. It's a pretty spacious room, and that's where Panqin's got all the goods. He'll be in there, too, with a bunch of guards."

"How many is a _bunch_?"

"I counted eight when I was here earlier."

"You make it a habit of counting guards when you walk into your boss's hideout?" Henyara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I used to run smuggling operations," Kamein replied, managing a somewhat incisive tone, "In that business, you're either observant, or dead."

"You seem to know an awful lot about security here for somebody who was only just visiting earlier tonight."

"Like I said," Kamein responded in a more overtly testy tone, "my job depends on me being _observant_."

"Point made," Ho Ten growled. "Kids, you two stay here with the icicle and these two guards. We'll handle Panqin and his men."

"Not this time," Kasori objected, shaking his head, "We're coming with you."

"Absolutely not. A narrow hallway debouching onto a wide open chamber, with eight guards? That's liable to turn into a firefight, and I'm not putting two children in the middle of that."

"We can handle ourselves, _lieutenant_," Henyara spat waspishly.

"It's out of the question. You promised to follow my orders!"

"Actually, I never made such a promise explicitly. And regardless, we're coming either way," Kasori assured him. Lieutenant Ho Ten snorted angrily.

"_Fine!_ Stubborn kids…" he muttered. "You can come, but _stay behind me!_ And leave that idiot here!" he added irately, pointing at Kamein. "Petty Officer Chung Tau, watch him and the other guards."

"Yes sir, Lieutenant."

"Everyone else, let's _go_." He opened the trapdoor and began descending the stairs, Kasori and Henyara right behind, followed by the other earthbenders. Kamein had been right: The hallway _was _narrow; they were forced to walk single file down a passage sporadically lit by occasional lanterns, ultimately arriving at a thick metal door.

"All right, people, this is it," Ho Ten announced to the group. "No subtlety this time: We bust in and make it clear what we're here to do. Everyone ready?" Nods came from each member of the platoon. "Then let's arrest a criminal." He seized the door and flung it open, and the group debouched rapidly into the wide cavern beyond.

It was a high-ceilinged space well lit by a series of well-placed torches, the walls lined with neat aisles of every kind of good imaginable, from barrels of spices to crates of jewels. There were bags of gold coins organized in piles — likewise for silver and copper; there were pieces of art off to one side, as well as exotic weaponry in a distant corner. And there was even a large ballista that appeared to have been ripped right off of an Earth Kingdom navy warship.

Kasori could see the eight guards right away, all scattered amongst the goods, marking notes on scrolls; and on the opposite side of the chamber, Panqin sat behind a desk, rifling through little booklets that Kasori would have bet were ledgers recording his nefarious dealings. Lining the wall behind him were several tunnels, leading deeper into the old mine.

"Panqin!" boomed Lieutenant Ho Ten as he and his men took up positions, adopting earthbending stances, "You and your men are all under arrest by the authority of His Majesty's Royal Navy! Surrender, and you will not be harmed!"

Panqin looked up, and with some satisfaction, Kasori saw that he was completely surprised: He had not anticipated this move. Nevertheless, he composed himself rapidly and arose slowly; his men had simultaneously dropped their scrolls and writing brushes and were backing away, forming a semicircle around their boss. Most of them were reaching carefully for swords or daggers, but two in the middle were now cradling balls of flame in their hands, and a lone man between them had lifted a large rock out of the earth.

_He has benders for guards — why am I not surprised?_ Frankly, Kasori had expected more than three benders for a location as important as this. Of course, Panqin did not appear to have been expecting a raid; perhaps the rest of his muscle was elsewhere…

"Ah…Kasori!" Panqin said, ignoring the lieutenant and fixing his eyes on Kas. "I must say, I underestimated you. But…someone must have tipped you off. There's no way you could have found this place on your own — but who…?"

"You sent him yourself, Panqin," Kasori hinted.

"Ah, of course — _Kamein_. I should've known better than to send that fool to clean things up at the tavern. But of course, if he had just done his job right to begin with, that wouldn't have been necessary. I always tell my people — do a job right _the first time_; otherwise, everything just gets exponentially costlier and more complicated…"

"Well, this one's pretty simple," Henyara snarled at him, drawing a water whip from the air and standing poised to use it, "The cost is your freedom! Give up!"

"But why?" Panqin asked innocently, spreading his hands in confusion. "I count only eight earthbenders, plus you two water savages. I have eight guards."

"You're forgetting that Henyara and I took out an entire platoon of your guards easily _by ourselves_ before," Kasori reminded him.

"Ah, but those were not _benders_, my little friend, and they were not _prepared_. These men are prepared."

"But only three are benders," Henyara pointed out, eyeing the two firebenders and the earthbender at the middle of the protective arc. Panqin shrugged dismissively.

"I still do not dislike my chances…"

"That's not a smart move, Panqin!" Kasori warned him seriously.

"The boy's right!" Lieutenant Ho Ten barked. "You're trapped! Those tunnels behind you only go deeper underground, and the only way out is through _us!_ You're outnumbered and outmatched. Surrender _now_, or we _will_ attack!"

"Hmm…" Panqin mused, scratching his chin thoughtfully. Tension crackled like lightning through the musty air. Kasori's eyes darted back and forth, scanning the guards: They didn't look very tough — one on the left looked ready to wet his pants, and another near him was visibly sweating. But the benders were resolute. They didn't appear to have any intentions of standing down…

"Well," Panqin said with a shrug, sitting down, "I'm arrested either way." He smiled and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the firebenders launched their flames, but Kasori was already moving, drawing a large stream of water from the air and sweeping it in an arc, intercepting the two fire blasts, which burst into steam as they struck the water; Kasori pushed, and the shield shattered into droplets, which froze into tiny spears and hurled themselves at the guards.

The earthbender hurled his boulder and then dropped into a low stance, springing up to erect an earthen wall to block the incoming icicles, which shattered against its surface; Henyara struck the flying boulder with her water whip, pulverizing it easily. The sailors were firing rocks against the wall as the nonbender guards vaulted it, rushing towards the earthbenders, weapons drawn…

One of them veered away from the petty officer next to Henyara, heading towards her instead; Kasori stepped in between them, drawing his ice sword and deflecting the man's blade with it; Henyara darted in under his arm and fired a qi-blocking jab into his axilla, causing his arm to go limp and his hand to release his weapon. Kasori tripped him, and as he fell, Henyara dropped atop him, smashing his head against the rocky ground with enough force to knock him out.

Kasori stowed his sword and summoned a water whip, concentrating it into a tiny, compressed orb between his hands; he then fired it at ferocious speed towards the earth wall, which blew apart from the sheer force of the pressurized water, sending the earthbender behind it flying backward; he crashed into Panqin's desk, pinning his boss to the ground.

The firebenders raced out of the breach, but one of them was immediately sunk into the earth by Lieutenant Ho Ten, who then rushed to engage the other; as they exchanged fire blasts and boulders, Henyara and Kasori fired two streams of water, she aiming high and he aiming low, striking her in the shoulder and knee respectively, sending her crumpling to the ground, where Ho Ten immediately encased her hands and feet in earth, pinning her down.

"Clear, sir!" shouted a petty officer; Kasori looked around and saw that it was pretty much true: The five nonbenders were completely incapacitated, four of them bound with earthen fetters, and the fifth lying unconscious where Henyara had left him. The earthbender guard was just stirring, pushing himself to his feet, pieces of wood clinging to his garments from the shattered remains of Panqin's desk: Kasori blasted him back with a jet of water, freezing him against the wall.

"_Now_, it's clear," Henyara remarked. Ho Ten approached Panqin, who was on his feet, backing away nervously, reaching for a stiletto strapped to his thigh…

Before he could touch it however, the lieutenant fired a pair of stone handcuffs from the sash that girded his waist, expertly ensnaring the criminal's knife-side hand and pulling it around his back to join the other hand, locking the two together. With a gesture, the stones around Panqin's feet shot up in a girdle around his ankles, and, disequilibrated, he collapsed to the ground, writhing angrily.

"Like I said, Panqin," the lieutenant growled, approaching the man and levitating him into the air by bending his earthen shackles, "you are under arrest. Men! Secure the prisoners and march them off!"

"Yes sir!" the seven other earthbenders barked at once; they set to work, gathering up the restrained guards (and the single unconscious one) and trooping them off, back into the débouché and towards the stairwell to the inn.

Ho Ten brought up the rear, leading Panqin as he came; he paused next to Kasori and Henyara.

"Nice work, you two," he praised them gruffly, "I must admit, you're pretty good in a fight. Thanks for all your help — you've done a great thing for Xing Fong and for the Earth Kingdom tonight. On behalf of His Majesty and the Royal Navy, I thank you and commend you for your service." He gave them a salute, and Kasori and Henyara bowed graciously in return.

"Now," Ho Ten added dryly, "would you mind bringing _that_ prisoner in for me?" He punctuated the word _that_ with a jerk of the head, nodding at the earthbender guard who was still frozen against the wall. Kasori smirked.

"Sure thing, Lieutenant. We're glad we could help." Ho Ten nodded tersely and moved on.

"Well," Henyara said happily, clapping Kas on the shoulder, "I guess we did it! I dunno about you, but _I_ am kinda tired…"

"Aw," Kasori teased her, "the late hours getting to you? It's only been two days!"

"Hey," she replied with mock seriousness, wagging her finger at him with dramatic gravity, "we can't all be crazy prodigies with freaky powers running around every night on the frozen tundra where _no other living thing_ is stupid enough to be in the middle of winter at the _North Pole!_"

"I suppose not," Kasori conceded with a chuckle, "but there are some other stupid living things out there, y'know — wolves, for one thing…"

"Congratulations — you're as _not_ crazy as an Arctic wolf…"

"Let's just go home, shall we?"

"Don't have to tell me twice — I'll get the earthbender…"

* * *

Kasori opened his eyes, finding himself, for the third time in two days, standing atop a snowy precipice, the starlight glittering in the ocean stretched out before him and in every mirror-smooth facet of ice. Avatar Yuecu awaited him in the usual spot. He sat down opposite her, and she began to speak, smiling warmly.

"It seems you had a successful night," she noticed.

"Yeah, everything worked out," Kasori concluded happily after a moment's thought. "Panqin, Kamein, and all of the others were arrested, the navy's dispatched a ship to raid Panqin's southern warehouse to recover his _collateral_, and the evidence Ho Ten recovered from the hideout and the tavern combined was more than enough to condemn Panqin and all of his men. Plus, they attacked the sailors, and there's no way they can deny the validity of those charges.

"The admiral of the fleet will be holding a tribunal on his flagship in the morning, and the blockade should be dissolved by then, too, or by tomorrow at the latest, if they have loose ends to tie off. In a day or two at most, we'll be on our way back to the North Pole."

"And I sense you learned a great deal throughout the course of this trial," Yuecu observed.

"Yes, I did," Kasori agreed. "I learned a lot about being the Avatar, and about making tough decisions. It was a real eye-opener."

"That is good, Kas," Yuecu told him; then she smiled cryptically. "But I am sure that you know: Your lessons have only just begun."


	6. Bk I, Ch 5, The Student and the Teacher

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 5: **_**The Student and the Teacher**_

The rest of the winter passed rather uneventfully: A marked ripple effect was manifesting itself across the northern Earth Kingdom, with the Royal Navy, after weighing anchor at Xing Fong, launching a series of scrupulous investigations throughout the few other ports on the desolate coast. They had turned up countless criminals and even disintegrated the entire northern branch of the powerful syndicate known as the Black Arrow — named after the sobriquet of its creator, the infamous Jihueng, an airbender who had disavowed his Air Nomad ways and turned to a life of vigilantism and, ultimately, crime.

Spring was announced, as it always was at the North Pole, by the first rays of legitimate sunshine in months, as the sun finally managed to pull itself up over the horizon. The daylight didn't last long initially, but it was still the first in many weeks, and it quickly grew until a "normal" day-night cycle had established itself.

That brought the vernal equinox, which was marked, as it had been every year for the preceding century, by a visit from the Southern Water Tribe: Each year, on the equinoxes, one Water Tribe would send an envoy to visit the other until the solstice of the next season. The southern tribe visited the North in the spring, and the northern tribe visited the South in the autumn.

This year, the Southern Water Tribe had made a point of dispatching several of their most top-notch waterbenders to train together with their northern brethren. Kasori was sitting with Master Nanuk – a great, bearish man with beady gray eyes and a massive mane of silver hair – atop a small snow ridge on the outskirts of the city, overlooking a wide open area where the northern waterbenders sometimes practiced their bending.

"They look pretty good," Kasori remarked as he watched the southern benders practicing a technique that he had actually developed himself; they were being guided by Henyara and Unukk, the son of Chief Nattut, the two of whom were Master Nanuk's best students. Even at this fair distance, it was possible to tell the southerners from the northerners just by looking at their parkas: The southerners' were a significantly lighter shade of blue.

"Not bad, not bad," Master Nanuk allowed in his low, ursine voice. "A little forced, but not bad. Of course, I don't expect naturalness right away from a technique derived from airbending." The waterbenders below were working on what Kasori thought of as a "water shield": a dome of swirling compressed water that would protect the bender from attack from most angles. Kasori had devised it after studying the air sphere techniques employed by airbenders in a book his father had gotten him.

"What do you think of this Chanek kid?" asked Master Nanuk suddenly.

"Chanek?" Kasori repeated, unsure of whom Master Nanuk was referring to. "The name's familiar, but which one is he?"

"The one on the right — right there, the one who's jumping around like a baby seal."

Kasori spotted him and immediately remembered meeting him a couple of years before, on a different equinoctial visit: Chanek was a strapping youth with dashing blue eyes…and an ego so big that it dwarfed his waterbending skills, which were considerable. He had just successfully deflected a water whip from Henyara and was strutting around like a peacock in a parka.

"I remember him now," Kasori replied, watching Chanek take up his stance again, erecting a water shield in preparation for Henyara's next attack. "Chief Magoda says that he's the best waterbender at the South Pole."

"So I've heard," Master Nanuk said inscrutably, scratching his formidable beard, "but what do _you_ think of him?"

"Well, his water shield needs some work," Kasori observed dryly as Chanek was floored by Henyara's feint-flank attack combination, which broke easily through his unfocused – or, more accurately, overly focused – shield. Master Nanuk chuckled mirthfully.

"What else?"

Kasori remained silent for a moment; he still wasn't used to Master Nanuk asking him these questions about the students — not even now, a year later.

"He's sloppy," Kasori finally concluded. "He has the talent, but not the skill. He bends like he does everything else — by the seat of his pants." Master Nanuk burst into uproarious, booming laughter, loud enough that Unukk, who was at least fifty yards away, turned his head curiously in their direction before returning to the girl he was coaching.

"My thoughts exactly, young Master!" Master Nanuk guffawed. "Speaking of which," he added once he had caught his breath, "why aren't you wearing your sash?"

"Oh…" Kasori reached deep into a pocket of his parka and pulled out an indigo sash; he proceeded to tie it self-consciously around his midsection. "I guess I forgot again…"

"Still not used to the title, eh, Kas?" asked Master Nanuk more familiarly, placing a huge hand on his shoulder.

"No, not really," Kasori admitted readily. The sash marked him as a Master, which was a fairly privileged position in the social hierarchy of the Northern Water Tribe. It was similar to the sashes that Unukk and his family wore, marking them as the ruling family of the tribe.

Master Nanuk squeezed his shoulder.

"Well, I suppose that's to be expected. You're awfully young — much younger than anyone who's ever worn the sash before you. It's a lot to throw at a teenager."

"Still…I suppose I should be accepting my responsibilities…" Kasori muttered thoughtfully. After all, he was secretly the _Avatar_, and _that_ was a lot to thrust on a teenager, too…

"You have, Kas! You've been helping me with the students ever since I gave you the sash! Unukk's really come into his own with your help." Kasori supposed that was true: Unukk was a very shy boy (Master Nanuk had had to practically beg him to work with the southerners today), and he had initially been struggling to advance in his training with Master Nanuk and his classmates.

Kasori had known Unukk from infancy (as did most people of the same generation in the Water Tribes), so he had offered to help him one-on-one. Unukk had proven himself an immensely gifted bender and had subsequently grown rapidly under single guidance. He simply didn't work well with groups…

"Unukk did most of the work," Kasori pointed out, "He's a talented kid. All I did was point things out here and there…"

Master Nanuk smiled warmly. "That's what a teacher does, Kas," he assured him with another squeeze to the shoulder. Kasori couldn't help but return Master Nanuk's paternal smile.

"Thank you, Master Nanuk."

"Y'know, technically, you should just call me Nanuk."

"Baby steps, Master, baby steps…"

* * *

A few hours later, Kasori finally had some time to himself, away from students; the southerners had dispersed throughout the city, doing whatever it was that they did during these visits, and Master Nanuk had left to instruct a group of northern benders; Unukk and Henyara were nowhere to be seen, and Kasori was alone in the little plain where the two had been coaching the southern benders earlier.

He was running through some forms with his ice sword — it had been a while since he had had the spare time. He had spent every available moment studying the Avatar State with Yuecu. Plus, with the winter receding, he had had duties to perform as a warrior of the tribe: hunting, fishing, ship building — all sorts of things that weren't done as much during the harsher – and darker – winter months.

_Focus on what you're doing, Kas…_ After a few minutes, he paused and examined the blade of his sword. _Hmm…_ Running a finger along the blade, he bent away a minutely thin layer of water. _There. Now it's even._ He resumed the form he was practicing, the blade feeling much better in his hand now that he had evened it, but he soon paused again.

He could sense vibrations traveling through the snow and up through his boots: Someone was coming… _Unukk…_

Kasori stowed his sword and turned to see the chief's son trudging up to him.

"Hey, Unukk," Kasori greeted him with a wave. Unukk returned the wave; automatically, Kasori could tell that he had something on his mind: Unukk's face was an open book, and right now it read of anxiety and embarrassment.

"Hey, Kas," the boy muttered, barely meeting Kasori's eyes.

"You all right, Unukk?" Kasori asked him, cocking his head and trying to meet Unukk's gaze, "You look like something's bothering you."

"Actually…I wondered if I could ask you for a favor."

"Sure, anything. What's up?"

"Well…" Unukk trailed off awkwardly, scratching his head and looking at everything except Kas; his face was already rapidly turning red, and his feet were twitching. Kasori waited patiently: It was his experience that saying anything would just make Unukk more nervous. Finally, Unukk sighed.

"Okay, here's the deal," he said in a rushed voice, as though he were trying to get the petition over with, "There's this…girl I kinda like…"

"Mekana?" asked Kasori with a sly grin before he could help himself. Unukk's face turned completely scarlet, and he looked up in shock, blue eyes wide.

"H-How did you — ?"

"Hate to break it to you, Unukk," Kasori told him with a sympathetic smile, "but everybody knows." Every youth in the Northern Water Tribe was well-acquainted with Unukk's "secret" crush on Mekana, a girl from the southern tribe who had visited the north a few times in the preceding years, including this one. Kasori supposed she was pretty: She had a sort of bucolic charm, with long brown hair and dark eyes and a very sweet smile…when she smiled at all. Frankly, Kasori thought that she always seemed dour on her visits…

Unukk had been smitten with her from the moment that they had met, though as far as Kasori knew, the affection was unrequited. His nervousness precluded him from doing much about it, and it was something of a sad joke amongst his peers.

"Oh…" Unukk murmured embarrassedly, still as red as a ruby, "Well, yeah, it's Mekana. See, I was thinking about getting her something…sort of break the ice, y'know."

"If you're looking for gift advice, I'm not the best person to ask," Kasori told him honestly, "This isn't exactly my area of expertise." Unukk managed a smile.

"Yeah…I know, Kas. I already know what I wanna get her. I just need your help to get it."

"Really? What is it?"

"It's a flower."

"You need my help to get a _flower?_" asked Kasori, raising his eyebrows.

"It's a pretty special flower," Unukk explained, still scarlet-faced. "I read about it in a book about the northern spirit forest. It grows at the outskirts."

Kasori stared at his friend: "You want to take a dangerous journey…across the frozen tundra…to the spirit forest…to get…a _flower?_"

"Like I said, it's pretty special," Unukk answered, twiddling his thumbs, "It's supposed to be so charged with spiritual energy that it never wilts or anything. It stays healthy forever."

"Well," Kasori pronounced with a friendly smile, "no one can say you're not a romantic." If possible, Unukk's face turned even redder. "So, when did you want to leave?"

"You're really gonna help me?" asked Unukk, sounding surprised.

"Of course I am!" Kasori assured him. "You're my friend! Even if you are a hopeless romantic!" Unukk managed a shy laugh.

"Thanks, Kas. Are you up for leaving at dawn? I don't have much time off from Master Nanuk." He paused, spotting the sash that Kasori was still wearing. "Oh, yeah — I suppose I should be calling you Master, too….dad's pretty serious about these social rules…" Kasori placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Unukk, I'll make you a deal: I help you get this flower, and you never call me that again." Unukk smiled.

"Done, Kas."

* * *

"Um…I don't mean to be a naysayer here," Unukk was saying the next morning, just before dawn, as Kasori finished packing a travel bag and closed it tight, "but shouldn't we have brought some transportation? It's a long way to the spirit forest, and going on foot'll take us too long…"

"C'mon, Unukk!" Kasori teased him, looping his arms through the straps of the bag and hoisting it onto his back, "You're not thinking like a waterbender! We have transportation — right _here_." On the last word, he lifted his hand, and a large, thick disk of snow rose from the tundra before them, compacting into solid ice. "Hop on."

Unukk stared at the disk, shrugged, and stepped on; Kasori followed and sat down cross-legged, inviting Unukk to do the same.

"You might want to put your hood up," Kasori advised him once he had sat down; Unukk obliged, and Kasori followed suit before aiming a punch at the ground immediately south: The disk rocketed forward, racing smoothly deeper into the tundra, hovering a foot above the ground.

"Do you travel like this often?" Unukk shouted over the scream of the wind.

"Almost every night," Kasori replied cheerfully.

"Wow — we're really going fast," Unukk observed: Indeed, the barren landscape was rushing by, almost at a blur, as they shot northward. It was a good thing it wasn't storming.

"Well, I don't travel this way for comfort," Kasori told him wryly; the ice disk wasn't exactly a luxury suite.

"You'd have to be insane to," Unukk muttered, shifting around, evidently uncomfortable.

"It might help if you set your bag down," Kasori suggested. Unukk looked at him, startled; he clutched to the straps of his backpack much more tightly.

"Are you kidding? At this speed, with the wind, and sitting on _ice_ — it'll fly off in half a second!"

"I can freeze it in place, y'know."

"Oh…yeah…" Unukk doffed his bag and set it down, keeping his hand planted on it, holding it steady as Kas tapped the ice, pinning the bag more permanently with a few ice clamps. Kasori repeated the procedure with his own bag.

"Better?" Unukk rolled his shoulders.

"Yeah, a bit. It's still crazy windy…"

"Nothing I can do about that," Kasori replied. _Well, I _could_ airbend…_

_ Yeah, _that's_ a good idea._

"It's actually kind of exhilarating once you get used to it," Unukk observed, chuckling as his hood was whipped around by the winds.

"More importantly it's _fast_," Kasori added. "At this speed, we should be there by the end of the day…"

Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out that way: As midday came and went, dark clouds amassed on the horizon; at the speed they were going, the storm was on top of them by sunset: Snow began driving down upon them in white torrents, and the winds became fierce and chaotic. Kasori had planted his feet on the disk and had been waterbending the snow away from them for an hour before he finally gave up:

"I think we should find some shelter for the night!" he shouted to Unukk over the roar of the storm. "I can barely see a hundred yards ahead, the light's fading fast, and this storm doesn't look like it's dying down!"

"Good idea!" Unukk shouted back, shielding his eyes with his hand as he scanned the surrounding ridges and snowbanks for a suitable shelter. Kasori had long since slowed the disk down so that the landscape was no longer blurring past them.

"There's a cave!" Unukk announced after a few minutes, pointing ahead and to the left: A large rock formation rose out of the windswept tundra, and there was a gash-like opening in the rocks on the leeward side.

"That'll do! I'll head over there." Kasori directed the ice disk towards the rocks, propelling it into the air and bringing it into a landing in front of the mouth of the cave. Melting the disk and grabbing their bags, Kas and Unukk raced into the cave.

"I don't think there's anyone else here," Kasori muttered, peering around the dim space, his hand cautiously fingering the handle of his knife, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

"Who would be?" Unukk asked absently, setting down his bag and pulling out materials to set up a fire pit.

"Wolves," Kasori answered shortly; Unukk started, looking alarmed, but a moment later, Kasori released the handle of his knife. "Don't worry, there aren't any here." He moved to help Unukk set up the fire pit; a few moments later, they had a sizable fire going and were sitting across from each other; Kasori pulled a wrapped cut of cooked elk meat from his bag, sliced it in half with his knife, wiped the blade, and passed one half to Unukk.

They ate for a while in silence – they had had little but seal jerky to munch on during the trip – with the storm howling outside, before Kasori began to speak:

"So, what's so special about Mekana?" Unukk nearly choked on a mouthful of elk; he managed to swallow, tears coming from his eyes, and then laughed.

"You've never had a crush, have you, Kas?"

"No," Kasori answered unreservedly, chewing thoughtfully. He had simply never really thought about relationships. They seemed like wastes of time and energy sometimes. Besides, he was the Avatar — how could he afford to divert his attention to something with such global insignificance as romantic acquaintanceship?

"It's not something I can really explain," Unukk answered the question. "I could give you all sorts of silly and spontaneous reasons why I like her so much, but that wouldn't really be it. It's not rational." He paused as though on the verge of adding something, averting his eyes awkwardly; all of a sudden he looked gloomy.

"She doesn't really like me, though…that's why I wanna get her this flower."

"Hold on, hold on," Kasori said around a mouthful of meat, giving him a halting gesture; he swallowed and continued more clearly: "Unukk, I've known you since before either of us could walk, and I've never met _anyone_ who didn't like you! Even _Henyara_ likes you, and she doesn't like many people."

Unukk blushed. "Well," he clarified quietly, "it's not exactly _me_ she doesn't like. It's…it's the tribe." Kasori was taken aback.

"What? What does she have against us?"

"There's a general feeling of resentment for the North amongst the southerners — has been for a while now," Unukk answered sadly, "At least, that's what she told me when she threw a snowball in my face last time I tried to talk to her."

"Sounds like you might need more than a flower," Kasori admitted.

"Well, I had already kind of upset her — you know how awkward I can get…" Yes, Kasori knew that all too well. Unukk could get horribly tongue-tied around strangers — especially pretty girls he was trying to impress, not that that happened very often. When he and Henyara had first met, she had pushed him into a snowbank a record of twenty times in three days…

"But why? Why does the southern tribe feel that way about us?"

"I guess they're fed up with being ruled by the North," Unukk answered with a gloomy shrug, "The Northern and Southern Water Tribes live literally on opposite sides of the world, but the North has always had political dominion over both. We'd have cultural dominion, too, if it weren't for the distance. It's hard to maintain cultural uniformity from one pole to the other.

"It's not the first time, either. I read that there was a civil war six hundred years ago over the very same thing," Unukk added.

"Yeah, I read about that, too," Kasori affirmed, "but I didn't know that history was starting to repeat itself."

"Oh, we're not anywhere near a war," Unukk assured him quickly, "They just…don't really like us right now. I dunno — dad's not really helping matters. He's really traditional — thinks that it's the North's place to rule over the South. He doesn't mean anything by it, but it's not really doing much to mollify things."

"I don't imagine so," Kasori muttered. A thought occurred to him: "Does he know about you and Mekana?"

"Heck no!" Unukk replied, wide-eyed, "I couldn't tell him that! And it's not just that she's from the South." He glanced around awkwardly before adding: "She's a…well, kind of a pauper. I mean — well, she comes from a poorer family than most, even for the southern tribe, and they're pretty egalitarian all-around down there."

"And you're the Prince of the North," Kasori finished for him. Unukk turned red again.

"Yeah…I don't think dad would approve… I don't want to upset him, but I really like Mekana…

"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it," Kasori suggested sagely. Unukk smiled.

"Thanks, Kas."

"No problem, but if you don't mind my asking, how're you hiding this from him? I mean, even _I_ knew about your thing for Mekana, and I'm the least romantically cognizant person at the North Pole." Unukk became gloomy again.

"Oh, well…I guess my little brother's been holding his attention lately."

"Kamek? He's only ten. What could he be doing that's so riveting?"

"You should see him, Kas. He's a regular miniature of my father. Always playing soldier with his friends, pretending to be chief, even organizes younger kids into troops and gives them orders and such…" Unukk sighed. "Y'know, he'd probably make a lot better of a chief than I would."

"Don't say that, Unukk," Kasori said sympathetically, "You would be a great chief."

"In all honesty, Kas, I don't think so. I don't know the first thing about political leadership. Dad's been trying to teach me since I was little, but Kamek's just so much better at it — without even trying. I just kinda drifted by the wayside…" He trailed off sadly, staring blankly at the piece of meat he was holding.

Kasori stood, circled the fire pit, and sat back down next to his friend, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Unukk, who cares if you didn't play soldier as a kid? You played Pai Sho, and patience and strategy are just as important in a leader as bravery and strength. And it's not like you're not a warrior: You're one of the best waterbenders at the whole North Pole! I oughta know — I taught you." By this point Unukk was blushing.

"Thanks, Kas," he muttered, "but I really do think Kamek would make a better chief. Don't tell dad…" He paused and then sighed. "…but I really just don't _want_ to be chief."

"Well, then, you _should_ tell him! I think there's a ceremony for shifting the royal birthright…"

"Yeah," Unukk muttered with gloomy sarcasm, "tell my dad that his firstborn son wants to abdicate his chiefdom before he even has it, that'll _really_ make his day…"

"Unukk," Kasori began seriously, "listen: Everybody has a path to follow. You have to follow that path, or you're never going to feel right with your life. If your path isn't to be chief, then you shouldn't be chief. It's what's best for you, for your tribe — for the world. All our paths are intertwined, and when one of us is out of place, _everything_ is thrown off-balance.

"So if you like," he added more jocularly, "you can tell your dad that you can't be chief because the very fate of the world rests on you staying as far away from politics as possible!" Unukk chuckled a little in spite of himself.

"Wow, you sound like one of the elders or something. Where'd you get _that_ bit of wisdom?" _Oh, nowhere special — I'm just secretly the Avatar, the guardian of balance and harmony in the world, literal personification of the spirit of light and peace._

"Let's just say I'm speaking from experience."

Unukk furrowed his brow: "What do you mean?"

"I promise: Someday, I'll tell you." Unukk seemed to think that a strange reply, but he said nothing about it and simply popped the piece of elk meat he had been holding the whole time into his mouth and chewed quietly.

"So what about you, Kas?" he asked after a long silence, during which Kasori returned to his own side of the fire and resumed eating. Kasori paused, looking at him quizzically. "Have you ever even _thought_ about dating?"

"Not really, no," Kasori answered honestly. "Just never seemed to happen…"

"You kinda have to _make_ it happen, Kas — I mean, _we're_ taking a dangerous journey to the spirit forest so I can get a flower for a girl to convince her to like me!" He paused thoughtfully. "Wow, that sounded really cheap and cliché when I said it out loud…" he muttered in an aside.

Kasori shrugged: "Guess I was just never too interested in 'relationships.' Besides," he added humorously, "it's enough work helping _you_ with _your_ relationships!" Unukk blushed. "I'm just teasing, Unukk!"

"Yeah, I know. It's not that much work, though — just pick a flower, and then we're on our way back home!"

"Actually I'm kinda glad," Kasori confessed, "You got me away from 'teaching,' at least for a couple of days. I swear, I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to this job…"

"You're wearing your sash, though, _Master_," Unukk teased, pointing at the indigo sash that still girdled his parka.

"And you're wearing yours, _Prince_," Kasori retorted with a grin. Unukk laughed.

"I guess I am! But seriously, though — you're a great teacher! You taught me, anyway, and even Master Nanuk couldn't do that."

"It wasn't the teaching you needed, Unukk, it was the environment. You just needed a friend, instead of an audience."

"You _sound_ like a teacher right now."

"I suppose I have made a habit of dispensing aphorisms…" Kasori mused half-jokingly.

"Nah, you _always_ did that," Unukk dismissed. They both laughed.

"Well, we should probably get some sleep," Kasori finally said, swallowing the last of his elk, "If we're lucky, the storm'll blow over soon, and we can head out a little before dawn, get that flower, and be back at the city by evening."

"All right then." They both pulled out blankets from their bags and lay down to go to sleep. "G'night, Kas."

"Good night, Unukk." Kasori closed his eyes on the shadows that had enveloped them throughout the course of their conversation – the sun had long since set – and on the lambent light of the fire piercing the darkness; he spent a few minutes listening to the storm howling outside, and to the crackle of the fire, before eventually drifting off to sleep.


	7. Bk I, Ch 6, The Ancient Healer

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 6: **_**The Ancient Healer**_

Kasori and Unukk were luckier in the morning than they had been the preceding afternoon: Just before dawn, when the sky was a pleasant, soothing shade of soft black, and the wind was nothing more than a gentle breeze, they set off again, heading rapidly northward.

By the time the sun was peaking up over the horizon to the right, bathing the ice and snow all around them in scintillating golden light, the spirit forest – a massive expanse of bizarre-looking trees, complete with a mysterious, almost fantastical webbing of underbrush – had come into sight.

Kasori halted the ice disk a few dozen yards from its periphery, and the two of them stood and stepped out onto the snow, trooping towards the trees.

"So where exactly do these flowers grow?" Kasori asked, peering around; one would think that trying to spot a flower on the tundra would be absurdly easy, but it actually wasn't: With the nascent sunlight gleaming off of every single frozen surface, it was actually more like trying to find a pebble in a pile of gemstones.

"The illustration in the book showed them at the outskirts of the forest — ten yards, maybe?" They drew closer to the woods, and Kasori spotted them: Little clusters of flowers were poking through the snow, scattered in a thin ring around the forest's edge — ten yards from the trees, exactly as Unukk had thought.

"I see them," he announced, but it was hardly necessary: Unukk was already moving towards the nearest one.

"Wow…" Kasori heard him whisper amazedly, pausing dead in his tracks, kneeling by the flower; Kasori approached, intrigued, and saw what he meant: At a distance, the flowers had looked puny and decidedly ordinary, but up close, they revealed their true form — large, supple petals that literally glowed in the light of the sun, shimmering and changing color as Kasori examined them from different angles.

"I guess that's the whole 'charged with spiritual energy' thing," he observed quietly, half to himself, watching, entranced, as the flower swayed in the breeze, causing it to ripple with a flood of new colors, simultaneously bright and dull, as though they were being viewed from the end of a long, dark tunnel.

"They're _incredible…_" Unukk breathed; Kasori could see the floral aurora dancing in his blue eyes: He appeared to be mesmerized. Kasori was on the verge of conspicuously clearing his throat to signal his friend to snap out of his reverie and take the flower already; but just then, he heard something: a mysterious, impossibly haunting, impossibly quiet…well, the most accurate descriptor he could summon for it was _shriek_.

It was coming from the trees, and he suddenly became aware of a peculiar blue-white mist emanating from deep within the forest, seeping out into the open, snaking gaseous tendrils towards them. _Was that fog there before…?_

Had he just not noticed? Or…?

The shriek sounded again, this time somewhat louder, loud enough that Unukk should have noticed; Kasori glanced at him, but the boy was still enthralled with the flower. For a third time, the shriek materialized out of the wind, this time much louder, as though someone were wailing right in his ear.

Kasori was well-acquainted with cold; even for a member of the Northern Water Tribe, he was unusually friendly with low temperatures. He couldn't recall ever getting a chill in his life.

Until now.

"What was that noise?" he asked, suddenly wary. His hand reached for his bone knife; the familiar grip was reassuring.

"What noise?" asked Unukk curiously, breaking from his trance and looking at him, utterly perplexed.

"You…you didn't hear it?"

"Hear _what_, Kas?" Before Kasori could answer, the shriek sounded a fourth time, this time so loud that Kasori's hands jumped to his ears. "What's wrong, Kas?" Unukk asked worriedly, half rising to his feet.

"Nothing, Unukk," Kasori assured him quickly, suddenly antsy, as though he were running from something, "Just grab the flower and _let's go!_"

"Right…" Unukk seized the stem and tugged, snapping it easily and tucking the iridescent flower into his parka. "Got it." He stood, but just then, the shriek sounded yet again.

This time, it was more than just an otherworldly noise: This time, it seemed to carve a path straight from Kasori's ear to his heart, and all of a sudden he was gripped with unimaginable pain; he dropped to his knees in the snow, clutching his head as the horrible sound resonated in his skull.

He could feel sorrow, agony, and fear all coursing through his blood like fire, but muted, as though they were not his own, as though he were feeling them through someone else, through whoever was making that awful screaming noise that was threatening to burst his eardrums and split his head wide open —

"Kas, Kas!" Unukk was shouting, sounding terrified. Kas couldn't reply — he was utterly paralyzed by the cascade of potent and dolorous sensations —

And then it was over.

As suddenly as it had all happened, his head was clear, the noise was nothing but a shrill echo in his mind, and all of those chaotic alien emotions had vanished. He was calm.

Kasori rose to his feet, turning instinctually towards the forest: More than fog was coming out of it now.

Two dark shapes were moving through the trees, amorphous and lightning fast.

"Unukk, look out!" Kasori lunged, tackling Unukk to the ground as one of the shapes suddenly darted out of the woods, lancing through the air straight towards the spot where Unukk had been standing moments before…

Kasori rolled off of Unukk, rising to one knee and sweeping his arm up, blasting the snow before him into the air in the form of a gigantic spear of ice. He had a glimpse of what appeared to be a gigantic black wolf before the spear bore straight through it, ripping a gaping hole in its dark form. It was as though the…whatever it was, was made of thin, reified light — or lack thereof.

"What are these things?" Unukk yelped, rolling away from another lunge from the malevolent being.

"Dark spirits, I think!" Kasori replied, launching a wave of water after the spirit before jumping away from its partner, which had just emerged from the trees.

"You think they're angry about the flower?" Unukk asked wildly, dodging another attack before finally throwing one of his own.

"Somehow I don't think so!" Kasori answered loudly over the other spirit's sudden angry roar; he hurled a cluster of water whips at it simultaneously, managing to force it back. "They're _dark_ spirits — their energy's all imbalanced, and that's what's making them hostile! I doubt a little flower could rile them up this much!"

"But _why_, then?" Unukk asked, deflecting his spirit's attacks with a large stream of water, trying to keep the angry being at a distance. "We've been here before — the spirits have never been like _this!_"

That was true — it was a rite of passage for Water Tribe youths to visit the spirit forest with their parents at the age of eleven: It symbolized the Water Tribe's efforts to live in harmony with the spiritual realm.

Evidently it wasn't working. The spirits had never been so angry before — what was happening?

_No time to think about it_, Kasori rebuked himself, deflecting the spirit's attack with a water whip and retaliating with a hail of ice spikes. The flurry of deadly bolts caught the spirit in its "leg," tripping it up and sending it spinning into the snow. Kasori seized the advantage, bending enormous streams of water into the air and crashing them down onto the spirit in a pressurized blast that kept it pinned to the tundra.

"Kas, look out!" He looked sideways: The other spirit, angered at its friend's misfortune, was racing towards him, bearing its ghastly, spectral teeth. Kasori propelled himself backward on a small water spout, skidding through the snow and piling it up behind him before sending it crashing forward in a monstrous wave. When the water crashed to the ground, the spirits were nowhere to be seen.

Kasori was about to drop his guard when he suddenly spotted a shimmer out of the corner of his eye: a dark shape racing across the ground, heading rapidly towards —

"Unukk! Look out!" Unukk turned just in time for the spirit to burst out of the snow; his eyes went wide, and he opened his mouth to yell as the spirit shot straight through him. Unukk's body was suddenly enveloped in a dark aura, and he collapsed, twitching, black light flickering over him.

"Unukk!" Kasori raced towards him, for the first time genuinely scared, his heart pound in his chest and his blood pounding in his head — but his passage was suddenly blocked by the other spirit, which exploded from the snow in front of him. Kasori jumped back and snarled angrily, firing a powerful jet of water that sent the spirit tumbling away.

Kasori rushed to Unukk, who was groaning quietly, his eyes clenched tightly shut, his body curled up in a fetal position, his extremities trembling. He was still emitting an occasional glow.

"Unukk! Unukk, can you hear me!" Unukk didn't answer. Kasori covered his hand in water, which began to glow as he reached for his friend's forehead —

He was suddenly flung backward as the dark spirit returned, whacking him away from Unukk and sending him crashing into the snow several yards away. Kasori staggered to his feet, head swimming as the spirit charged him.

Anger – anger, and fear for his friend – burned inside him, boiling up like acid in his blood. The dull pain in his head vanished; his vision cleared; he settled into a strong stance as the spirit drew closer.

With a furious shout, Avatar Kasori let loose a jet of flames from the first two fingers of his left hand, the blast startling the spirit, which scrambled away from the brilliant ribbon of fire. Kasori launched fire blast after fire blast, landing blow after blow, wearing the spirit down, punching holes in its strange, immaterial body until it no longer retained the lupine character it had possessed before, and was instead a shapeless mass of shadow.

Kasori spun, bringing his foot up in a high kick that slammed back to the ground, causing the earth beneath the spirit to erupt in a jagged spire that split it cleanly in two; as the spirit halves flowed amorphously back together, Kasori disintegrate the spire into a cavalcade of boulders which he then hurled at the spirit, seeking to crush it back into the snow.

Still the spirit backed away, obviously wounded, growling and seething with what Kasori could only describe as pain.

He switched to air, swinging his arms to release sharp blades of wind that sliced at the spirit's tattered form; with a punch he fired a powerful, compressed gust that pounded the spirit back against a rock formation at the edge of the forest. There it lay, shuddering and whining, almost like a wounded animal.

_Time to finish you!_ Kasori darted forward, drew up a large stream of water, compressing it until it was no larger than a needle, and fired it at ferocious velocity straight towards the spirit's "head"; the water connected with the spirit's bedraggled body and decompressed with explosive force, blasting it into shards of light that simply vanished into the crisp air.

Kasori held his stance, breathing hard, more from adrenaline than from exertion; he couldn't believe it would be that easy to defeat a dark spirit — from what he'd read, they were supposed to be immune to most benders' advances…

But nothing happened: The dark spirit did not return, and Unukk couldn't wait; Kasori raced over to him, nearly slipping in his haste; he skidded to a halt on his knees next to his friend, and before he had even regained his balance, he had outstretched his hand, covered in glowing water —

"_Argh!_" The moment his hand touched Unukk's forehead, he had a momentary glimpse into his energy – a tangled, pulsating mass of darkness and something he could only describe as lightning – before a powerful jolt expulsed him and knocked him backward into the snow.

Kasori scrambled back up, approaching more cautiously this time, extending another healing hand and letting it hover half an inch over Unukk's skin. He breathed deeply — in…and out…

_Focus…be calm…_

After a few pacifying seconds, Kasori opened himself back up to Unukk's energies, feeling once again the knotted heap of malignant force: the dark spirit's presence intertwined with Unukk's own spirit. This time, no blast of energy repelled him. Slowly, he brought his hand down onto Unukk's head, trying to interface with the web of darkness, but he could feel the spirit blocking him.

He withdrew his hand before it decided to jolt him again. He noticed two things: first, that the blast of energy that had knocked him down the first time had left a serious burn on his hand; and second, that there was a wide gash in Unukk's arm, a gash that had penetrated through his parka and every layer of clothing beneath it, piercing the skin. Blood was flowing steadily from the wound.

_One of his water blades must've backfired or something…_

Kasori made to heal the wound but stopped halfway, remembering what would happen if he tried; instead, he healed himself, and then reached down and untied the indigo sash from around his waist. Taking the thick cloth in hand, he washed Unukk's wound carefully and then expertly wound the sash around it, tying it tightly into an improvised tourniquet.

_That'll do for now_, he thought grimly. _At least until I can get the spirit out of him_.

_Which reminds me: How am I supposed to _do_ that?_

He didn't know the first thing about curing a spirit possession. He had read quite a bit about spirits, though, and knew that Unukk didn't have much time: Spirit possessions couldn't last long before the host degenerated. Of course, the only examples he had read about occurred before the spirit portals were closed by the first Avatar — back when the spirits could walk freely in the mortal world. With the realms mostly divided now, who could say how their powers had been affected?

Either way, he had not a moment to spare: He had to do something _now_.

_But not here_, he realized, looking around; there was an ominous murmur in the air, similar to the sound that had announced the spirits' arrival, and the strange, spectral blue fog was still seeping out of the forest. He imagined it wouldn't be long before more spirits were all over him.

He had to get Unukk out of here.

Kasori rose to his feet and lifted his hands: The snow beneath him and Unukk rose up and froze to ice. With Unukk in tow, Kasori propelled the disk as fast as he could away from the forest, scanning the tundra as it whipped past, seeking a shelter, somewhere secluded where he could keep Unukk safe…

_There!_ There was a small mountain that rose up to the west; at its base there was a wide ledge surrounded on three sides by steep declivities and on the fourth by an even steeper cliff face, complete with jagged stones; the entire ledge was blanketed with snow.

_Perfect_. Kasori launched his disk into the air, bringing it down gently on the snowy ledge; he planted his feet and brought his arms up, bending the snow into a large dome that froze into solid ice, forming a thick-walled shelter around himself and Unukk; he left a small hole in the ceiling.

With another gesture, he lifted the snow beneath Unukk's body, which had grown deathly still, forming a table so that Kasori could stand with Unukk at chest-level. He summoned a small water whip, wreathing it like a crown around his friend's head; the water began to glow, and Kasori tried to heal him again.

Again he could sense the dark spirit's presence, like a malign fire burning deep within Unukk, smothering his own spirit, like a candle dwarfed by a conflagrant inferno. Again Kasori tried to interface with the dark energies, attempting to soothe them and work away the knots, the disruptions, the abnormalities; but again the spirit pushed against him. Every portal he attempted to use, the spirit blocked; every tactic he tried, it countered.

After several intense minutes, Kasori sighed and let the ring of water fall back to the snow whence it had come. He sat down in the snow, hiding his head in his hands, trying not to despair and trying to think of some way to help his friend, whose spirit was slowly being strangled before him…

_I need help_, he decided quickly. Shifting back a bit and erecting himself on a pedestal of packed snow so that he was level with Unukk, Kasori closed his eyes and meditated, trying to find a calm center, letting the worries around him flow away, washed out by a profound serenity…

"You summoned me, Kas?" Kasori opened his eyes to see Avatar Yuecu's spirit, glowing blue-white, sitting, hovering in the air, directly opposite him, on the other side of Unukk's horribly inert body.

"Yes," Kasori answered, surprised to find his voice so calm and steady, "I need help. Unukk…he's been possessed by a dark spirit. Nothing I've tried is working. I never learned anything to combat spirits like this. I…I don't know what to do." The admission of his helplessness threatened to shatter his tranquility; he took a deep, calming breath.

_Easy, Kas…_

"Your friend is in serious danger," Yuecu pronounced rather unnecessarily, though he could tell by her grave tone and serious gaze that she was not trying to be funny. "A spirit possession is nothing to be trifled with. But there is a way to save him."

"How?" Kasori asked eagerly, almost ravenously. He couldn't – he _couldn't_ – let Unukk die. That…that just could not happen.

"In the ancient times, when the spirit and material worlds were still adjusting to the schism opened between them by our mutual predecessor, Avatar Wan, reprisals from dark spirits angered and upset by the imbalance – or, rather, the shift in the balance paradigm – were not uncommon.

"Your ancestors, the first waterbenders, having learnt their art from the Moon Spirit, and inhabiting a region so close to one of the two spirit portals and thus charged with spiritual energy, were perhaps the most heavily affected. They beseeched the Moon Spirit to give them some way of effecting harmony between themselves and the spirits, and the Moon Spirit gave them an answer…in the form of another spirit.

"Her name was – _is_ – Malaava. She is a spirit of great knowledge and power, and she imparted to the Water Tribe the knowledge of how to use their waterbending to heal. A special subset of this skill was the ability to use waterbending to manipulate spiritual energy itself, allowing the waterbenders to interface with the dark spirits that plagued them and purify their energies, cleansing them of their darkness.

"It is this power that you must acquire if you are to save your friend."

"Can you teach me?" Kasori begged. "I _have_ to save Unukk!" Yuecu shook her head sadly.

"I only know of this power, Kasori. I never learned to possess it myself. It is a sacred arcanum that was known only to your people, and was lost from human knowledge hundreds – probably thousands – of years ago. The only way for you to gain this power…is from the source." She looked at him very seriously.

"You must journey to the Spirit World and find Malaava," she told him, "She can bestow upon you the knowledge that you need."

"How will I find her?" Kasori asked, "I haven't been to the Spirit World since I was nine! I don't exactly know my way around very well…"

"When you are in need in the Spirit World, someone always comes to light the way," Yuecu answered cryptically.

"Right…" Kasori muttered, not really in the mood for guru wisdom.

"I wish I could tell you, Kas," Yuecu added more straightforwardly, "but I do not know. I only visited the Spirit World a few times myself, and I had never even heard of Malaava on any of those occasions. This is a journey you will need to make by yourself."

"I suppose I saw that coming," Kasori sighed. Yuecu gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Good luck, Kas — and remember: In the spirit world, your emotions determine your reality. Keep a positive focus, and I am sure you will find what you seek." With that pronouncement, she vanished, and Kasori sighed again sadly.

_Okay, Kas, focus. You know how to do this. You've done it before…_

_Yeah, five years ago…_

_Stop it! Breathe in…breathe out…_

Kasori exhaled calmly, closing his eyes, turning his mind inward and letting go of conscious thought, letting his thoughts run together into a magnificent blur; he could sense his spirit shifting planes, a sensation not unlike that of falling into a lucid dream, and when he opened his eyes, Unukk and the ice shelter had vanished: Instead, a grassy field opened up before him, dotted with fantastical purple plants; a cloud of blue dragonfly-rabbit spirits went soaring past him.

Kasori couldn't help but smile at the sunny cheerfulness that pervaded everything around him; a glowing, bejeweled butterfly fluttered up to him and landed on his shoulder; he petted it gently with a single finger.

_Okay, that was pretty easy. Now what?_

He recalled Yuecu's words: If he remained peaceful and positive, someone would show him the way. He stood still, drinking in the indescribable scents of this strange meadow, focusing on cultivating an inner calm.

He didn't have to wait long: After about a minute, he heard a rustling, whooshing sound behind him, and turned and looked up to see a mature dragon bird spiraling from the sky towards him. It somehow seemed very familiar…

"Reuzuta?" Kasori asked as the stunning spirit, decorated with resplendent gold and red feathers, landed in front of him. The spirit gazed at him with fiery eyes that seemed to glow with something he could only describe as joy. It extended its neck and brushed his cheek with the tip of its large beak.

"Wow," Kasori muttered, slowly and gently passing a hand along the feathers of the spirit's head, "you got a lot bigger since I last saw you." He recognized this dragon bird: He had met it a long time ago — eight years, to be precise, on one of his first visits to the Spirit World. He had named her – for he could now see, in mature form, that she was indeed a female – for a famous dragon in Fire Nation lore, a story he had heard from his father, who had heard it from traders.

Reuzuta nuzzled his cheek again, a soft, low chirr emanating from her throat.

"I guess you're the help Yuecu was talking about," Kasori continued, "Do you think you can help me? I need to find a spirit named Malaava. It's very important." Reuzuta chirruped and turned, lowering her head so that her long neck was exposed to him; she spread her vast wings somewhat.

Kasori got the message: He carefully climbed aboard, straddling the dragon bird just above her shoulders; when he had settled into position, Reuzuta flapped her wings powerfully, lifting off into the air; she swiftly climbed several hundred feet, cutting a swift arc through the sky and aiming towards the horizon.

Kasori watched as the landscape unfolded below him, a patchwork of fields, rivers, forests, and even a broad canyon off to his right. After only a minute of fast flying, Kasori noticed that there was suddenly frost coating the ground, and the temperature, which had been at a balmy, tepid level back in the meadow, was plummeting sharply. And far ahead, a mountain range began to materialize.

Reuzuta was headed directly for the largest mountain, dead center of the range, and at the speed she was flying, it would only be a matter of minutes before they were there. Kasori was now glad that he was wearing his parka, because the temperature was dropping steadily lower, lower than even he was used to — and he was used to bitter North Pole winters. His breath fogged before him until he pulled up his mask, and Reuzuta's wings were varnished in ice crystals.

They soon arrived at the mountain, which Kasori now saw was totally made of ice, and Reuzuta slowed down, descending in a graceful spiral to a ledge that preceded a large cave. The dragon bird spirit touched down, and Kasori slid off of her back, dropping lightly to the ground and taking a few steps towards the cave. He looked back at Reuzuta, and she gave him a nod before turning and taking off again, soaring away back the way she had brought him.

_Guess it's not far to…wherever I'm going…_

Pushing his curiosity and apprehension aside, Kasori crossed the ledge and entered the cave; it formed a wide corridor leading deeper into the mountain, and after only a minute of walking, he found himself in front of a double door, seemingly carved out of the ice which composed everything around him. The door was enormous — more like a castle gate than a simple door.

It had no handle that he could see, so Kasori simply walked up to it and, with no time for shyness or etiquette, rapped his knuckles loudly against it. There was a muffled plunking sound, as though some exquisite machinery had been set in motion, and the doors began to swing inward slowly, seemingly of their own accord.

By the time they opened fully, Kasori had already scanned the chamber beyond: It was a cavernous hall opulently carved from the ice, bathed in the spectral light of blue flames that hovered a dozen feet in the air, all over the place, completely independent of fuel of any visible fuel. Columns of ice formed the boundaries of an aisle that he was obviously meant to traverse, leading up to a grand dais where sat a throne of magnificent proportions, also carved straight from the ice.

_Not exactly an inviting ambiance_, he thought warily, finding himself on edge as he approached the dais, his footsteps echoing eerily in the vacuous cavern. He reached the foot of the dais and paused, unsure of whether or not he should continue: The throne at the top was facing away from him, and there was a strange light emanating from it, as though something resplendent was sitting there, unseen.

Before he could come to a decision about what to do, however, a voice – a cool, almost icy, and thunderous female voice – spoke from the throne:

"Greetings, young Avatar."

"You have me at a disadvantage, noble spirit," Kasori replied cautiously.

"Indeed…" The glow coming from the throne shifted, and its source – also the source of the voice – stepped out from behind it: The spirit had the form of a shapely woman, dressed in flowing robes the same spectral, azure hue of the flames – and, now that Kasori looked carefully, the ice – all around her; her skin, too, was a pale blue, and her eyes were literally shards of ice. Her robes stirred around her even though the air was utterly still, and their edges were emanating the mysterious radiance he had seen.

"I am the spirit Malaava," the spirit announced to him, although he had already figured as much, "I am the one you seek."

"I am honored, great spirit Malaava," Kasori regaled her, bowing respectfully. "Your perspicacity is humbling. I only hope that your munificence may match it."

"Such flattery from one so young," the spirit replied smoothly; her tone was indecipherable: He could not tell whether she had meant that irritably or teasingly…or neither. Perhaps she had truly intended it to be as toneless as it had sounded…

"Forgive me if I sound ingratiating," Kasori beseeched her, "but I am in desperate need of your help."

"So it would seem, young Avatar," the spirit replied crisply, infixing him in her icy gaze. "You come seeking an ancient power…a power that I first bestowed upon your remotest ancestors."

"Yes," Kasori confirmed, "My close friend Unukk has fallen prey to a dark spirit, and I am powerless to help him. No one in my tribe has the knowledge I need, and even if they did, there is no time to journey back to them. Unukk does not have long. Please, great spirit…you are my only hope."

"Interesting…" Malaava muttered silkily, stepping down from the dais and circling him slowly, deliberately, examining him from all angles; he dropped his eyes respectfully as she did so. "_Your_ only hope?" she repeated softly. "A curious choice of words…it is your friend who is in danger, but it is you whose hope is on the line? Curious indeed…"

Kasori didn't really find it curious at all, but he felt it would be unwise to interrupt. He let the spirit pick apart his words, though secretly he feared that each second that ticked by brought Unukk closer to death…

"I willfully imparted the knowledge of the healing arts, and that of the ways of spirits, to your ancestors at the behest of Tui — the Moon Spirit, as you more likely know her. I suppose it would be only fitting for me to restore the lost knowledge — particularly when it is the Avatar who makes the request…

"But first…I must test you."

"Of course," Kasori replied readily; he had suspected from the moment that she had begun speaking that there would be some sort of trial. He just hoped that it wouldn't take too long…

"My test is…a question. You must answer the question with a simple _yes_ or _no_."

_Is that it?_ "I understand," he said aloud.

"Then here is the question: If the only way to save your friend were to give your own life, here and now, would you do it?"

Kasori opened his mouth, about to give the answer that immediately came to mind, the answer that he didn't even have to think about in the slightest…when something stopped him. His first answer came before thought did; once thought caught up, he noticed a snag…

"Your answer, Avatar?"

"I…am conflicted, great spirit."

"Explain," Malaava ordered neutrally, her tone still utterly indecipherable.

"My heart gives me one answer, and my mind gives me another."

"Then present both."

"My heart tells me that, unthinkingly and unreservedly, I would absolutely give my life for my friend." Kasori looked up, meeting her eyes for the first time since she had descended from the dais. "Unukk is like the brother I never had. And even if I hadn't known him all my life, in the Water Tribe, _everyone_ is family, and my answer would be the same for any of them. And even if _that_ weren't true — it wouldn't matter to me. All human beings are interconnected, and to give one's life for one and not another is hypocrisy."

"Well spoke," Malaava pronounced cautiously.

Kasori continued: "But…my mind gives me the opposite answer. Don't get me wrong, I would gladly give my life for Unukk, but my mind counsels me that my life isn't wholly mine to give."

"Explain," Malaava ordered a second time, still in the same inscrutable tone.

"I am the Avatar," Kasori answered clearly, "and therefore my life belongs to the world, and it's my duty to serve the world." Kasori paused, his breath catching painfully in his throat; he swallowed and forced himself to continue: "To give my life here and now to save one person – no matter how dear that person is to me – would mean abandoning the world to the darkness and chaos that envelop it. The world would have to wait another sixteen years for the Avatar to be born again and raised in the Earth Kingdom, and there simply isn't time. I'm needed _now_."

"Well spoke again," Malaava pronounced. "You have given two answers, one from the heart, and one from the mind. But the test requires that you select one of the two: _Yes_, from the heart; or _no_, from the mind. Choose wisely."

Kasori couldn't respond. How could he? How could he choose? It was an impossible choice!

But he had to choose. This was a test, to determine whether he was worthy to wield the power that he needed to save Unukk. So…if the test was to determine his worthiness, then it made sense that the correct answer was _yes_. That answer demonstrated his selflessness, demonstrated that he would use the power judiciously, to save the life of another and not for his own gain…right? Was that what she was going for?

It had to be. Nothing else made sense…or…or did it?

_Stop overthinking it! Just _answer!

Kasori sighed: "I choose _no_." He hung his head, scarcely believing that the words had just left his mouth; had he just betrayed one of his closest friends in the entire world?

Malaava remained silent for a long moment — weighing his answer, perhaps? Finally, she spoke, quietly and clearly:

"You have chosen…wisely." Kasori looked up, shocked.

"What?" he asked bluntly, forgetting propriety, "But…I chose the selfish answer!"

"No, you did not. There were two selfless answers. One was personal and narrow, the other impersonal and broad. The answers reveal two aspects of your self: the first, your human self, and the second, your Avatar self."

"But…I chose the Avatar self over the human self," Kasori concluded.

"There was never a choice between them."

"I'm confused," Kasori confessed honestly. For the first time, Malaava smiled; somehow, it came off as sinister.

"You cannot divorce your humanity from your role as Avatar, young one. They are inseparable — two parts of the same whole, obverses of the same coin, like _yin_ and _yang_: They are engaged in constant balance, demonstrated by the conflict you experienced in answering the question, in choosing momentary _im_balance towards the one or the other."

"So why make me choose?"

"Because balance is not static: It is dynamic, constantly flowing back and forth. It is an equilibrium: a stabilization of opposites. For this to be, there will be times when you must choose one side of yourself over the other. Because the sum total of these choices ultimately preserves the balance, _neither_ answer was wrong — and neither was right."

"I…I see."

"As Avatar," Malaava continued pedantically, "the decisions you make have great impact on the entire world; even the slightest move on your part may produce ripples through time to engender ineffable consequences, for good or for evil. With such an intricate web of possibilities splayed out before you, and with it being impossible for you to imagine all of the conceivable ramifications of even the minutest action…sometimes you will face decisions in which no option is right or wrong. It is these decisions that will reveal who you truly are.

"Your answer," she finished, "demonstrated a keen – if subconscious – knowledge of this most profound aspect of your destiny: You were neither out of touch with your humanity nor negligent of your responsibilities as the Avatar. You were _balanced_, and for that reason you found choosing between the two sides very conflictive.

"Therefore," she concluded strongly, "I judge you _worthy_." She stepped in front of him, and it was only then that he realized just how tall she was: She towered at least ten feet.

"I will give you the knowledge that you seek," she announced, placing a hand to his head, her thumb resting over his thought chakra; her other hand found anchorage against his chest, thumb pressed dead center over his sternum.

Her touch was cold as ice.

A white light began radiating from the points of contact between her fingers and his body, filling his vision as he felt a bizarre sensation overcome him: He could _feel_ the knowledge flowing from Malaava into him, coursing from her fingertips through his skin and deep into his core, forming a knot of warmth that blossomed and swelled until it encompassed every fiber of his body —

And then Malaava removed her hands, and the sensation vanished abruptly, leaving only the knowledge that had brought it.

"And now you must go," she said brusquely, turning and ascending her dais. "Your friend needs you."

"Wait!" Kasori asked suddenly; she paused. "Why were the spirits so enraged in the first place? Is it something we did — the Water Tribe, I mean?"

"Yes…and no," Malaava replied cryptically. "It was you who mentioned that 'darkness and chaos' are plaguing the world: This has caused such an egregious imbalance that the spirits which reside near the poles are becoming unstable. The fact that they would attack you without even the slightest provocation reflects the critical state in which the world finds itself.

"You were right to observe that the world needs the Avatar now," she added.

"Then I suppose I should be going."

"Yes."

"Thank you for your help, great one," Kasori said sincerely, giving Malaava a bow.

"It is an honor to serve the Avatar." Somehow that sounded like a jibe, but Kasori wasn't about to argue: He simply closed his eyes and breathed deeply, letting his thoughts float away until his mind was totally clear; he felt a sensation like that of surfacing from deep water, and he reopened his eyes to find himself back on the tundra, in the material plane, sitting on his snow pedestal.

Sinking the pedestal back into the snowy ground and jumping to his feet, Kasori laid a hand on Unukk's chest, pressing hard against the thick clothing…

He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the beat of his friend's heart. He glanced up at the sky through the hole he had left in the ice shelter ceiling; it didn't seem that much time at all, if any, had passed: The sky was still the watery blue-gray of dawn.

Kasori seized a water whip from the snow and wreathed it around Unukk's head, just as he had before, and exhaled calmly, feeling the familiar sensation of spiritual energies flowing through his fingertips. He could sense, yet again, the dark spirit within Unukk: a malevolent, pulsating, electric mass of negative energy.

_Time to use what you learned, Kas…_

Kasori took a step back and widened his stance slightly before sweeping both arms in a slow, deliberate, cyclical motion: The snow table on which Unukk was lying melted and whirled into a helix of tendrils enveloping the possessed boy, who hovered in the air in their midst, still crowned with glowing water.

The tendrils too began to glow as Kasori continued moving his arms, slowly, smoothly, fluidly, interfacing with the spirit's energy, but, instead of attempting to purge it directly, used the push and pull of the water to draw it out passively.

The tendrils' glow shifted from white to gold as a faint, purplish aura enveloped Unukk; Kasori could feel the dark spirit giving way to the water's soothing touch. _Just a little more…_ He continued to coax it, siphoning its energy out of Unukk and into the watery streams, where he could heal it directly, untying the knots, salving its hotspots, and dissipating the bolts of negative energy that had so destabilized it…

It was an ineffable, half glorious, half terrifying feeling: immersed in a sea of swirling spiritual energy, a roiling, storm-tossed ocean in which Unukk's own energy hung, in very real danger of being totally washed away in the flood. The dark spirit was like the horrible storm at the center of it all, rippling with lightning and buffeted by chaotic winds.

But the storm was subsiding: Kasori could see the aura enveloping Unukk fading, subliming into a thin fog that dissolved into the glowing water until Unukk was totally clean and began to stir vaguely.

_Time to finish it._ Kasori extended his hand and protruded two fingers into the helix of golden water, finally able to directly interface with the troubled spirit's energy, and then it became a simple matter, one he had performed countless times since he was eight years old: a simple matter of healing the spiritual wounds…

The dark fog, twisting and undulating within the shining tendrils, began to change, taking on the same golden color and dissipating into flurries of sparkles, like snowflakes being carried away by a gentle, remedial wind. Within a minute, it was gone, and Kasori could sense the spirit's presence – now mollified, balanced, and at peace – leaving the shelter.

He exhaled and released the energy pent up in the water swirling around Unukk; its glow faded, and it became normal water again, which he bent back into a snow table to catch Unukk's body as he dropped down under the reinstated influence of gravity.

Unukk coughed, screwed up his eyes, and then opened them slowly, as though awakening from a long sleep which was not long enough.

"Unukk!" Kasori cried, barely able to restrain his happiness at seeing his friend unharmed.

"Kas?" Unukk muttered, one hand rubbing his head as though it pained him, "What on earth happened?"

"You got possessed by one of those dark spirits," Kasori explained, supporting Unukk as he rose to a sitting position. "I brought you away a bit to try and heal you."

"I didn't know you could heal a possession," Unukk murmured absently, still rubbing his head.

"I didn't think I could," Kasori admitted. _How much should I tell him?_ "I, uh…I kinda had some help from a light spirit." Unukk looked at him curiously, but he seemed to perceive Kasori's discomfort and didn't press the matter. Moreover, he was quickly distracted:

"Ow!" he gasped, suddenly clutching his arm. "What the…?"

"I think one of your water blades backfired during the fight," Kasori explained, remembering the gash in Unukk's arm: It was still tied off with his indigo sash, which had turned dark with bloodstains.

"You used your _sash?_" Unukk asked, aghast.

"Well, it was the only thing I had! I couldn't heal you until I got the spirit out, which wasn't until just now, and you were bleeding pretty bad — here…" He untied the tourniquet, removed the blood-soaked sash, and exposed the gash beneath; drawing a water whip from the snow, he passed it across the wound, healing it quickly, watching as the blood vanished and the incision stitched itself back up, leaving no trace that it had been there except for the tear in Unukk's parka.

"Guess you can't heal that, huh?" he joked, poking his fingers through the tear.

"'Fraid not," Kasori admitted, stowing his ruined sash in a pocket.

"Sorry about your sash."

"Don't be silly. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Thanks to you."

"Like I said, I had some help…"

"Well," Unukk said with a smirk, "whoever helped you, thank them for me too, will you?"

"Sure thing," Kasori replied, putting an arm around his friend's shoulder.

"Sorry I put you through all of this for a flower," Unukk muttered, reaching into his parka and pulling out the flower he planned to give to Mekana. It really was beautiful, its large, voluptuous petals catching the oblique rays of sunlight slanting through the ceiling above and reflecting off the ice walls, blazoning them in the form of an iridescent aurora.

"It _is_ a heck of a flower," Kasori admitted. Unukk laughed weakly. "I'm sure Mekana'll love it. Just promise me something, Unukk."

"Sure — anything."

"Next time you want a flower…let's just buy one somewhere, okay?"

Unukk reddened: "Deal."

"Now let's get home, shall we?"

"Don't have to tell me twice…"


	8. Bk I, Ch 7, The Colonist

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 7: **_**The Colonist**_

"Sad to see her go?" Kasori asked Unukk out of the corner of his mouth as they, along with a small group of other northerners, waved to their brethren from the Southern Water Tribe, who had boarded their galleon and were about to weigh anchor to return to the South Pole. Mekana was at the stern of the ship, waving enthusiastically at Unukk, a broad smile visible on her face, even at this distance.

"Yeah," Unukk replied dreamily, blue eyes fogged, "but at least she _likes_ me now…"

"That flower certainly did convince her…"

"If ya ask me," Henyara interjected archly, "any girl who can be wooed that easily is kinda cheap." Unukk's eyes flared angrily, but Kasori intervened:

"Easy, Unukk, she's just messing with you!"

Henyara laughed: "Yeah, man, calm down! I'm sure she's great!" Unukk reddened, still looking flustered.

"Yeah, well…" he mumbled aimlessly. A group of northern waterbenders stood at the dock, adopting a little phalangeal formation and lifting their arms in unison: The water beneath the southern galleon piled up and swept it from the ice docks out to sea, where it swiftly unfurled its sails and set off southward.

Unukk sighed.

"Cheer up, Unukk," Henyara told him, jabbing him with her elbow, "she's only been gone _five seconds!_ You're gonna have to wait another few months to see her at the autumnal equinox!"

"I don't think that's helping, Henyara," Kasori observed; Unukk gave her a withering glance before shrugging and managing to put on a happier face.

"Eh, I guess I'll be all right," he joked.

"There ya go!" Henyara congratulated him, clapping him roughly on the shoulder. Then she turned her gaze to the ocean, suddenly looking curious. "Hey, what's up with that carrack? It's moving awfully fast…"

Kasori and Unukk looked: Approaching the southwestern merchant docks was a single mercantile carrack vessel, sail swollen with the wind and riding a small wave. Like all Northern Water Tribe merchant vessels beginning twenty years ago, when piracy in the northern seas had exploded, it was escorted by a navy frigate and a pair of corvettes.

"They must be waterbending the ship to give it more speed," Kasori surmised, staring at the undulation of water beneath the vessel.

"Something must be wrong," Henyara concluded, "C'mon, let's go see!" They raced along the docks as the carrack skidded up to its pier, the artificial wave that had brought it in dissipating with a splash; its naval convoy broke away, heading for the military docks farther southwest along the coast.

As they reached the pier, they saw that the carrack had already deployed its disembarkation ramp, and crewmen were descending it, carrying a stretcher between them. The angle prevented Kasori from seeing who was on the stretcher, but judging from their haste, he or she was seriously injured.

"Look, a scout cutter," Henyara pointed out as they found their way obstructed by naval officers, who were cordoning off the pier, since a crowd was already beginning to gather. She was indicating a small, two-sailed vessel pulled directly up to the shore, bearing a military flag; the officers who had piloted it were conversing with the captain in charge of the dock operations.

The sailors blocking the pier spotted Kasori and Unukk's sashes, bowed, and parted, allowing the three of them to pass; they hurried down the length of the pier, towards where several members of the carrack's crew were grouped in a circle.

"What's going on here?" asked Unukk, managing a firm, official tone, as though his inquiry were some matter of princely business: The outermost sailors turned around, bowed, and parted, gesturing for them to see for themselves. The three teenagers moved into the circle and saw what had so ensnared everyone's attention.

The men who had carried the stretcher were standing in the center, still supporting their grisly load, which consisted of a man who could not have been in worse shape: He was obviously bruised and emaciated, with several bandages on his arms, legs, and head, and skin that was terribly pale and covered in livid spots. His mouth was covered in caked blood; he had three conspicuously broken ribs and was missing a foot: The end of his left leg was nothing more than a bloody, bandaged stump.

"Mom?" Kasori asked; his mother was standing over the man, passing glowing water across his chest. She turned her soft gray eyes on him; they had that strange, determined spark that only ever came into them when she was healing. Normally, his mother was the mellowest, most passive person in the world, but when the sick and injured needed her, she became resolute and highly purposeful.

"Kas," she greeted him swiftly, "less talking, more healing." She stepped sideways, making room for him to help her; he moved closer, drew up some water from the ocean alongside the pier, and began to assist his mother, as he had done so many times before.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Unukk quietly; he sounded disconcerted by the man's egregious wounds.

"Everything," Kasori muttered as he scanned the man's body and energies: "There's the missing foot, plus contusions, internal bleeding, broken bones, starvation and malnutrition, scurvy…"

"He has a bad concussion and a spinal injury up here," his mother Masoka added, passing one hand around the man's skull; the other was planted over his heart. "His heart is very weak, and his lungs have strong signs of water damage. He must have breathed in a large amount of seawater…

"We need to get him to a healing hut, _stat_," she told the stretcher-bearers.

"Everybody clear the pier!" Henyara called back to the officers still cordoning off the area behind them; they nodded and cleared a path as Kasori and Masoka, still working on healing the man, accompanied the stretcher-bearers as they rapidly conveyed him to the nearest healing hut.

When they arrived, Masoka directed them to the nearest available bed, where they laid him down, stretcher and all.

"We'll remove the stretcher later," Masoka explained as she sent the crewmen away, "I do not want to risk moving him now." Unukk and Henyara entered, bringing the captain of the carrack with them.

"What happened to this man?" Kasori asked the sailor as he worked on healing the contusions that covered the man's legs.

"We're not entirely sure," the captain replied, "We were returning from an uneventful trading voyage to Ise, on the northern Fire Nation coast, and as we passed the Western Air Temple isles, we found him drifting in the ocean. We picked him up and searched the surrounding waters, but all we found was the wreckage of a small ship nearby. There were no other survivors.

"He was in a bad way, and we had no healers aboard, so we rushed back here."

"What was he doing all the way out there?" Henyara mused, staring at the man almost suspiciously. "What's left of his clothes…they aren't Air Nomad, so he's not from the Western Air Temple."

"Only nuns live there permanently anyway," Kasori added.

"Earth Kingdom, maybe?" Unukk offered.

"Maybe," Kasori muttered. The man's tattered clothes were in dark shades of brown and black, with a touch of red — though most of it was bloodstained, so it was hard to tell what was what…

"No, he's Fire Nation," the captain told them, "After we'd brought him aboard and given him preliminary treatment, we managed to wake him up. He told us that he was a Fire Nation colonist, but he wouldn't tell us where from. The only other thing we got from him was his name: Tataru."

"Well, he is now a patient under the care of the Northern Water Tribe," Masoka pronounced firmly. "His injuries are quite extensive. It will take a few days to heal him completely. We cannot do too much at once, or his body may not be able to withstand the rapid change."

"I'll get these ribs," Kasori told his mother, healing the last of the contusions in the leg and moving his hands to the man's thorax.

"I'll work on the internal bleeding." Masoka moved her hands to join his. "I think some of it is secondary to the broken ribs."

"Yes, I can sense a puncture in the spleen…" Kasori murmured, shifting one hand, "…got it."

"Good, now fix that rib and I'll clear away the blood and patch up the vessels…" They continued to work for several minutes, Unukk and Henyara watching silently; the captain returned to his ship.

After a while, the portière that acted as the door to the hut swished open, and Chief Nattut entered.

"We're busy here, Chief," Masoka addressed him curtly, barely letting her eyes flit away from her patient.

"I just spoke with the dock captain," Chief Nattut told the room at large, "and he told me of the situation. How bad are his injuries, Masoka?"

"Very," Masoka answered shortly, not bothering to look up at all this time. "It will take some time before he is able to stand on his own two feet, let alone return to his colony."

"How long?"

"I estimate three days of round-the-clock attention from healers before his injuries are completely resolved. He'll need another few days to get his strength and health back — he has scurvy and severe signs of malnutrition. He'll require proper dietary remediation."

"Can't you heal the disease?"

"Of course I can," Masoka replied wintrily, obviously irritated at the incessant interruption as she worked on healing the man's concussion and spinal injury, "but without proper diet, it'll just return the moment he's back out at sea.

"All in all, he'll probably be here a week — ten days at most."

"Then I'll get in touch with Fire Lord Beilin," Chief Nattut announced, "and tell him of the fate of his colonist. The last thing we need is a Fire Nation search party showing up at our doorstep…" He made to leave but paused, staring at Tataru's lower extremities. "Can you heal that?" he asked, pointing to the man's missing foot. "The Fire Lord will have a fit if he comes back without a foot."

"The injury's a little old," Kasori muttered, shifting his hands to the bloodied stump, "but I think I can regenerate the limb." He carefully removed the bandages, revealing a hideous mass of clotted blood and severed bone; he swiftly covered it with healing water, moving his hands gently back and forth.

The congealed blood and other fluids began to shimmer with the water, and the light soon enveloped the entire stub, growing slowly and taking the shape of a new foot; after a minute, Kasori removed his hands, and the glowing water receded, revealing a perfectly regenerated foot.

"Done," Kasori announced.

"Good," Chief Nattut grunted, "Carry on, you two. Keep me apprised of his progress."

"Of course, Chief," Masoka replied dutifully. Chief Nattut turned and left the hut. After a moment, Henyara snorted and elbowed Unukk in the ribs.

"Dude, your dad is _cold_."

"He doesn't mean anything by it!" Unukk defended his father sheepishly, "He's just…pragmatic…" Kasori grimaced and continued silently with his work, unwilling either to rebuke Unukk with the truth or to support him with a lie. The simple fact was that Chief Nattut _was_ a rather cold man — some said as cold as the tundra where he made his home. He wasn't a bad man…just a rather unsympathetic one.

Kasori had often wondered how Unukk had come from his bloodline — they were absolutely nothing alike.

"Kas," Masoka interrupted, "I need your help with this heart. It's very weak, and I'm afraid it could go into arrest while I'm healing it. I need you to ensure his blood stays flowing."

"On it, mom…"

* * *

Kasori was still in the healing hut, cleaning out a bed that had just been vacated by a young boy who had had a terrible case of pneumonia, when suddenly Tataru groaned; Kasori spun on his heel in time to see the man open his eyes and cough violently. Kasori crossed rapidly over to him just as he was attempting to prop himself up.

"Whoa, take it easy, Tataru!" Kasori advised him, laying a hand on his chest and gently pushing him back down. "You're in _no_ condition to be up and about."

"Wh-Who are you?" Tataru spluttered between coughs, eyeing Kasori suspiciously and trying to lift his arm to repel him. Kasori held up his hands, signaling his peaceful intents.

"My name is Kasori. I'm a healer from the Northern Water Tribe." He stopped himself before adding more; he didn't want to overload the man, who was already furrowing his brow in an obviously painful attempt to process the information he had just been given.

"A-A healer…?"

"That's right."

"You're — " Tataru was interrupted by a violent coughing fit.

"Be quiet just a moment," Kasori mandated soothingly, drawing some water from the snow beneath his feet and passing it across the man's chest: He could sense several knots of energy in his lungs, representing the damage that was obstructing the proper flow of air. He worked the knots loose and then removed his hands.

"Is that better?" Tataru took a deep breath and managed not to cough.

"A bit, yeah," he grunted. "Isn't it strange for a boy to be a healer? And a young one like you at that?"

"I'm full of surprises," Kasori explained simply.

Tataru coughed slightly, but it was no longer the fierce, whooping cough that he had had before. He looked around at the snow and ice surrounding him. "So I guess I'm at the North Pole then?"

"That's right," Kasori replied brightly, "One of our ships found you floating in the ocean and brought you back here."

"Floating in the ocean…?" Tataru stared at him quizzically.

"Yeah, near the wreckage of a small ship. From the sound of it, you were aboard the ship and got attacked or something. No other survivors were found."

"What are you talking about?" the man demanded. Kasori stared back at him confusedly.

"Wait…what's the last thing you remember?"

"Leaving the Fire Nation mainland for the new colony — " He stopped abruptly, as though he were about to reveal something sensitive.

"I think your head injury gave you some slight amnesia," Kasori told him, walking around behind him and drawing up another water whip, wreathing it around his head. "I'm going to try and unblock your mind, okay?"

"You can do that?" Tataru asked suspiciously, staring up at him with skeptical eyes.

"Yes. Healing works on mental and spiritual maladies as much as physical ones. Now lie still." Kasori exhaled, placing his fingertips into the water and connecting to Tataru's mind; he closed his eyes, and the darkness behind his eyelids became filled with rapidly shifting images: a ship, full of red-clad sailors, one shooting a jet of fire into the sky, looks of excitement on all of their faces — the ocean, vast and sparkling beneath the summer sun…and strewn with planks of wood, shredded rigging, and bodies of men, most of them sporting bloody wounds…

Kasori pushed away the fleeting memories, focusing on the mind itself; its energy was hectic and pulsating, and Kasori could see the thoughts racing through it like lightning. He could sense obstructions, too — little caps of negative energy suppressing the positive energy. He reached in and carefully pulled the caps away, letting the flow of the water wash them out.

After a minute, he opened his eyes and dropped his water whip.

"How's that?"

"That was…really weird," Tataru mumbled; his eyes were glassy and unfocused. Kasori could only imagine how it felt to have someone digging around in one's mind. "But…it's all starting to come back…"

"What happened to you?"

"Our…our colony…it was attacked — by pirates."

"Where?" Kasori asked, remembering that the captain and his crew had been unable to get the location of the colony from Tataru before. The man stared blankly at the roof of the hut, as though deliberating about what to tell him, before finally sighing.

"Eh, it was supposed to be a secret, but I guess since you guys saved my life…" He paused and thought about it some more before finally speaking again: "The colony is on the easternmost isle of the Western Air Temple archipelago, on the northeastern tip."

"Isn't it illegal to build colonies on Air Nomad lands?" Kasori asked somewhat sharply. "All four nations agreed to that thousands of years ago — "

"Well, duh, kid, that's why it's a secret!" Tataru growled in response.

"Why does the Fire Lord want a colony there? It's pretty far from the homeland."

"The land is superbly arable," Tataru answered begrudgingly, "and we need the food."

"But the Fire Nation's food supply has always been sated by trade with the Earth Kingdom. What's changed?"

"The Earth Kingdom's generosity is in short supply these days," Tataru summarized bitterly, his eyes shining with a startlingly malevolent gleam. Kasori wanted to ask him what exactly he meant by that, but decided that it wasn't wise to push what was obviously a touchy subject.

"So how long has the colony been there? I imagine at least since planting season during the spring…?"

"You imagine correct," Tataru confirmed curtly.

"Why didn't the Fire Navy protect you from the pirates?"

"Because the Fire Navy's already protecting _more important colonies_ in the south," Tataru answered with a sardonic snarl; he groaned and clutched his head in evident pain.

"Take it easy, Tataru," Kasori cautioned him gently, "There's still a lot of healing to be done before you're back to full strength." He gave the man a minute to recover before asking: "So…the navy didn't send any ships to protect you?"

"They had one ship — a puny corvette stationed at the colony at all times. Only other warships we ever saw were the frigates escorting our supply ships — those were pretty puny themselves."

_I guess that explains the scurvy_, Kasori thought. The colony sounded poorly managed, and with "puny" supply lines, that far away from the homeland…

The starvation and disease both made sense now.

"So why didn't the corvette fend off the pirates?"

"Oh, they tried," Tataru assured him mockingly, "They pushed the pirates away…_after_ they had already raided our supply houses. The navy had taken losses, too, so they rounded up some of us to help them chase the pirates — don't know why. Guess they wanted blood…

"Well, they got it: The pirates had some backup, and we sailed straight into an ambush. They'd disabled the mainmast before we could blink, and we were suddenly in a fight for our lives. We didn't last long. I lost my foot — hey, what the…?!" He wiggled the toes of his newly regenerated foot, aghast.

"H-How in the — ?"

"I managed to heal it," Kasori explained.

"Didn't know healers could do stuff like that…"

"It's trickier than most procedures," Kasori admitted, "but it can be done if we get to the injury fast enough. Usually we have to have the severed limb, too, but since it was just a foot and not a whole arm or leg, it was doable."

"Well, I suppose I owe you thanks for that," Tataru mumbled reluctantly, relaxing after his sudden start, "I wouldn't be able to farm much with a missing foot." He paused. "You said there were no other survivors?" he asked flatly.

"None that our ships found," Kasori admitted reluctantly, "but they couldn't do a full search — they had to get you back here to be healed."

"Doesn't matter," Tataru snorted bitterly, "The pirates would've taken any survivors prisoner — to sell 'em back to the Fire Lord as hostages. They've done it before."

"That's awful," Kasori mumbled. Suddenly, Tataru flared up, jerking his head around to glare venomously at Kasori, eyes blazing.

"Yeah, it is, kid!" he snarled, "But why should you care? You and the rest of you snow savages, sitting up here in your cozy little igloos, not a care in the world for the rest of us who have to suffer and scrimp and starve just to make our way! What would a naïve northerner like you know about the real world? It's not like your tribe has done anything to help us!"

"What do you mean?" Kasori asked, startled by Tataru's outburst. Hospitality was a closely-held precept in Water Tribe culture — what could he possibly mean by accusing the North of indifference?

"Fire Lord Beilin has requested help from your people _five times_ in the last three years — help with the pirates, help with the famine, help with _everything!_ If you know anything about Fire Lord Beilin, you know full well that he _never_ asks people for _anything!_ Our people are _dying_ — suffocating beneath the weight of Earth Kingdom embargos, rampant piracy, and insurrections that crop up every five seconds!

"And what was the Water Tribe's response? A big — _fat_ — _NOTHING!_" By the end of his sentence, Tataru was roaring in Kasori's face; he suddenly clutched at his chest and grunted in pain, writhing on the bed. Kasori rushed to apply healing water to his heart, which was straining to keep blood circulating through his body in the teeth of his anger.

"You need to try and stay calm!" Kasori urged Tataru, still healing, "Your heart is weak from everything you've been through! Another outburst like that and I might not be able to keep it going!" Tataru snarled but submitted to his healing hands; after a few minutes, Kasori withdrew them and sighed.

"I'm sorry for how my tribe has treated you," he said sincerely. "I swear to you, I didn't know. Chief Nattut…he can be somewhat…misanthropic."

"That's putting things mildly," Tataru growled foully.

"Maybe I can talk to him," Kasori suggested.

"What could a kid possibly do to convince the chief of the Northern Water Tribe to change his ways?"

"I can be pretty resourceful," Kasori assured him slyly. "And besides — you see this sash?" He pointed to the sash tied around his midsection. Tataru glanced at it and twitched his head affirmatively. "This sash gives me special status in the tribe. And on top of that, the chief likes me — insofar as he _likes_ anyone, anyway. _And_ I'm close friends with his son!"

"Whatever, kid," Tataru snorted. Kasori placed a hand on his shoulder; Tataru looked at him, apparently startled by such a cordial gesture.

"I promise, Tataru, I'm going to do whatever I can to help your people." _And _that's_ an Avatar promise_, he added in his head.

* * *

"I dunno, Kas…" Unukk muttered nervously, trying to avoid meeting Kasori's eyes, "Dad's pretty set in his ways — he _never_ changes his mind about _anything!_"

"We have to try, Unukk!" Kasori insisted.

"I agree," Master Nanuk interjected sagely, stroking his magnificent beard; being the most senior member of the Council of Elders, the ruling body of which Chief Nattut was, well, chief, Kasori had thought that Master Nanuk would be ideally suited to help plead their case to Unukk's father.

Kasori had known Master Nanuk since he had been a small child, and the old waterbender had always been like a second father to him; Kasori knew him to be an ineffably warmhearted man. He had known that he would be willing to assist in convincing the chief to help the Fire Nation.

With the venerated Master's help, Kasori felt sure that they had a strong position.

"I'm surprised dad hasn't shot down the Council on this issue before," Unukk mentioned, "Tataru said that the Fire Lord's made the request five times. Didn't dad bring the matter before the Council at least once?"

Master Nanuk shook his head: "Not at all. He doesn't have to, of course: Foreign policy is at the sole discretion of the chief. The Council mostly serves to arbitrate judicial matters and to coordinate mundane infrastructure."

"So we're gonna have to be _really_ convincing…" Unukk mumbled unenthusiastically. Kasori put an arm around him.

"C'mon, Unukk," he pleaded, "we need you on this. You're the prince — your dad'll listen to you in a way that he won't listen to anyone else!"

"Maybe you should've gotten Kamek to help you," Unukk suggested gloomily.

"I don't know Kamek as well as I know you, and he's not the firstborn! You have a special place in the social hierarchy. Between the three of us, I think we have enough clout to make this happen!"

"See, this is what I was telling you back in the spring!" Unukk complained, "I'm no good at these political games."

"Relax, Unukk," Master Nanuk told him in his deep, soothing voice, "You're just having a conversation with your father." Unukk sighed.

"Yeah, yeah…okay…"

* * *

"Enter," came Chief Nattut's booming voice from behind the magnificent ice door that led to the royal capitol, where the Council and the chief both held conferences. Master Nanuk lifted his hand, and the doors swung open, revealing an immense, spectacular chamber all carved of solid ice that sparkled like sapphire.

The chief sat cross-legged atop a dais so that he was eye-level with entrants; he was positioned just in front of a large pool of crystal clear water that shimmered in the sunlight radiating through the door and in the firelight that radiated from the various fire pots arranged around the chamber. A light, refreshing mist pervaded the entire room.

"Master Nanuk," Chief Nattut greeted them as they walked forward, "And my son, Unukk — and young Kasori. Welcome. What matter do you wish to discuss?" They reached the chief, bowed, and adopted militaristic _at ease_ postures, as per protocol.

Master Nanuk spoke first: "Chief Nattut, the Fire Nation colonist that Master Kasori has been treating has brought to our attention the plight of his people regarding piracy in the northern seas. He has also informed us that you have elected to adopt an isolationist stance on this matter. We would like to humbly urge you to reconsider this position."

"Go on," Chief Nattut said slowly, his eyes narrowed; Kasori could tell that he was on guard.

"Chief Nattut," Master Nanuk continued, "the Northern Water Tribe has the most powerful navy in the world. We have complete dominance of the northern seaways, and any area of the ocean that is of interest to the tribe, we control. We have a great deal of experience in dealing with pirates, and it would therefore be easy for us to assist the Fire Nation, whose navy is not as well-equipped and is already stretched too thin."

"Moreover," added Kasori, sliding into the conversation, perfectly in sync with his old master, "the Water Tribe has always been devoted to living harmoniously with the other three nations. For several centuries, we have been the chief arbitrator of maritime issues for _all_ the nations, and it is we who have led the initiatives for peaceful waterways all across the world. It is our duty as a tribe to help those in need."

"Hmm…" Chief Nattut rumbled, stroking his beard; he locked his eyes on his son, who didn't seem to want to meet his father's gaze; Unukk was staring pointedly at his feet; Kasori glanced at him and could see that his hands were balled up in tight, sweaty fists.

"All of these things are true," Chief Nattut finally said, still not diverting his eyes from his son, "but I must also balance these duties to the world with duties to the tribe itself. As chief, my responsibility is to do what is best for my people, and I am not so sure that dispatching the navy to deal with pirates who are not bothering us is a wise course of action to further that goal."

"The pirates are not bothering us _yet_, Chief," Master Nanuk corrected him cautiously. "If we continue to sit passively while they threaten our nearest neighbors, plundering and looting at our immediate borders, then we send them the message that we are theirs to trample over."

"Pirates are insatiable," Kasori added firmly, "It's only a matter of time before the Fire Nation's problem _becomes_ our problem."

"Hmm…" Chief Nattut repeated, still staring directly at Unukk. "Anything else you would like to present before I adjudicate this matter?" Kasori and Master Nanuk both looked at Unukk. He was still staring at his feet.

_C'mon, Unukk_, Kasori silently urged him. _I _know_ you have something to say…_

"If that's all…" Chief Nattut began slowly — but he was interrupted right there by his son: Unukk looked up all at once, his eyes now shining strongly, though Kasori could see that his hands were still clenched in sweaty fists.

"No, father, that's not all," the prince said clearly. "The fact of the matter is that intervention _is_ the best course of action for the interests of the Water Tribe." Kasori looked at the chief — and could have sworn that he saw a ghost of a smile pass across his lips as he answered his son's claim:

"Please explain, my son."

"Father, piracy is a threat to the world economy. Other than land-based hunting, our own economy, our culture — our very civilization and our very _lives_ depend upon the ocean. Therefore, the security of the ocean at large is of prime concern to the Water Tribe. Our relationship with the other three nations is completely dependent upon the ocean, too. If we allow pirates _any_ reign whatsoever, we are jeopardizing our way of life and our relationship with the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads."

Chief Nattut simply listened, his entire, rapt attention devoted to his son, whose voice was growing stronger as he spoke, his words echoing across the chamber. The same shadow of a smile lingered on Chief Nattut's face, and Kasori began to wonder whether he had already made up his mind, but simply wanted to hear his son stand up and speak his mind. There was something very like pride entering his gray eyes…

"Sure, we've eliminated piracy from our own shores," Unukk was saying, seemingly unable to stop, "but that's just the bare minimum. If we join with the Fire Nation – and maybe later, the Earth Kingdom – to coordinate a systematic effort to crush piracy worldwide once and for all, we will liberate the ocean for unhampered trade. That will allow our economy to skyrocket. We have never _needed_ the economic support of the other nations, but trade creates wealth for _everyone_, and freer trade routes can only mean better things for the Water Tribe people. Who knows — maybe we can expand and form colonies of our own." _Nice move_, Kasori appraised. _Appealing to the chief's ambitious side._ He would never have thought of that.

"And finally…" Unukk's mouth twitched, finally forming a small, nervous but quirky smile. "…it's not like the Navy has anything _else_ to do right now." Upon hearing this last remark, Chief Nattut burst into raucous laughter, his voice booming across the chamber.

"Well spoke, my son!" he praised Unukk. "Very well, you have convinced me: It is in the best interests of the Water Tribe, the Fire Nation, and the world for us to quell the pirate threat once and for all." The chief rose, and the three of them immediately bowed, per protocol.

"Now," the chief continued, "if you will excuse me, I must carry on this conversation with Grand Admiral Taknat."

"Good day, Chief," they all three said in unison, stepping aside to allow the chief to pass them and leave the chamber. The moment the doors shut behind him, Kasori put his arm around Unukk.

"Great job, Unukk!" he said excitedly, "You were amazing!"

"I am very proud of you, Unukk," Master Nanuk told him warmly, "You did quite well, convincing your father to help Tataru and his people." Unukk managed a weak smile; now that he was not pleading his case, and his father had left the room, he appeared ready to faint.

"Thanks," he mumbled, "but I _never_ wanna do that again." Kasori smiled and finally realized why Unukk had been silent the entire time up until the end: He had been deciding what exactly would be most convincing to say. He had played his father like an Arctic lute.

Kasori ruffled his friend's hair, which always elicited a shy laugh.

"You've got a deal, Unukk!"

* * *

They waited three days for Chief Nattut to confer with Grand Admiral Taknat, his immediate subordinate in the command of all the Northern Water Tribe's naval forces, who in turn had to confer with his fleet admirals. At the end of the consultation process, the chief summoned them to his chamber and gave them the news:

The Northern Water Tribe navy would be dispatching three of its ten full fleets to the reaches of the northern ocean, as well as sending an envoy to the southern tribe to arrange a potential companion operation in the southern seas. The three fleets would spread across the ocean in a systematic effort to rid them of pirates. It would be a massive effort that would require extensive coordination with the Fire Nations and the Earth Kingdom as well, an effort that could take some weeks to fully instantiate and months or _years_ to carry to completion.

Nevertheless, the Water Tribe would immediately be deploying a battle group to the colony where Tataru had his home; after a few more days, Tataru himself, whose injuries were now healed, would be ferried to the colony too.

Kasori had worried that stationing a battle group in Fire Nation waters would be seen as an act of war by Fire Lord Beilin, but Chief Nattut had assured them that he had already sent word to the Fire Lord, and that anyway, the area technically fell under Air Nomad jurisdiction. The Water Tribe had agreements with the Northern and Western Air Temples that allowed the presence of naval vessels in their waters.

Somehow Kasori thought that the Fire Lord wouldn't like that explanation, but there was nothing he could do: He needed the Water Tribe's help – had asked for it himself – and he was technically in violation of international law. His hands were tied.

_I hope this brings Tataru some closure_, Kasori thought as he entered the healing hut. Tataru wasn't the only occupant now: A couple of young kids had gotten themselves banged up pretty badly chasing a baby seal through a smattering of ice floes off the southeastern coast.

One of them – a boisterous boy by the name of Gonak – was groaning in his bed as Kasori entered.

"What's up, Gonak?" Kasori asked him, crossing over to the boy.

"My stomach hurts," he moaned, clutching the offending region. Kasori smirked and ruffled his short-cropped hair, which was shaven on the sides and pulled into what was coming to be called a "warrior's wolf tail." Apparently it was becoming quite a trendy style…

"That's because you got rammed in the gut by an ice floe," Kasori explained to him, drawing up some glowing water and passing it over the boy's stomach. "They can be quite aggressive, y'know." The boy laughed and then yelped.

"Haha — ow! — don't make me laugh, Kas! It _hurts_…"

"All right, Gonak, just relax…" The boy calmed down and removed his hands, lying still and letting Kasori heal him. "There, how does that feel?"

"Lots better…" He thought a moment and then burst into uproarious laughter, drawing stares from everyone around. "Doesn't hurt when I laugh!" he exclaimed proudly. Kasori simply shook his head, though unable to repress a grin, and went over to Tataru's bed.

"How are you doing, Tataru?"

"I am fine," the man answered curtly. He had several blankets covering him — being from the warmest of the four nations, he was unused to the cold temperatures of the North, despite the fact that it was unusually warm this year, warm enough that no one was wearing parkas.

"Well, perhaps this will cheer you up," Kasori began happily, drawing up a pedestal of snow and sitting down next to the bitter Fire Nation colonist. "We spoke with Chief Nattut, and he's agreed to help the Fire Nation with the piracy problem." Tataru snapped his head around, staring at Kasori, wide-eyed and looking genuinely and apprehensively intrigued.

"What? Really?" he asked, unable to mask the yearning in his voice.

"Really," Kasori confirmed. "He's already dispatched fleets to the most pirate-ridden areas of the northern seas, and specially detailed a battle group to your colony. Your injuries are healed, so you'll be heading back yourself on a military escort in a few days."

"A-And the Fire Lord agreed to that? To have a Water Tribe naval force sitting outside his secret colony?"

"Well…" Tataru grinned and snorted.

"Serves him right anyway," he said, though the venom in his voice was diluted with joy. "I can't believe it — finally my people might have a chance. You have no idea what pains those pirates have caused us — how many people have _died_…" He paused before adding melancholically, "I lost my brothers to pirates." Kasori touched his shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry, Tataru," he told him sincerely, "and I'm sorry that this help has been so long in coming. I wish I had known about it earlier. I hope this whole awful affair doesn't taint your view of the Water Tribe. We really do care — most of us…"

"Maybe I did misjudge you," Tataru allowed, staring at Kasori intently, "After all, you, a mere boy, have done more for my nation in three days than your entire people have done in three years. I guess you can't all be so bad."

"I suppose that's the best I can hope for," Kasori replied.

"Thank you, Kasori of the Water Tribe."

"Actually, the person you should be thanking is Prince Unukk. He was the one who really convinced his father."

"Well, in case I don't see him, will you give him my thanks as well?"

"Of course." Kasori gave Tataru a respectful bow, using the hand positioning that was unique to the Fire Nation. Tataru smiled broadly.

"You know the Fire Nation bow!"

"My ignorance of the piracy problem may belie it," Kasori said, "but I do actually know quite a bit about the other nations. My father's a trader, and he's taken me on all of his voyages since I was seven. I haven't been to the Fire Nation much recently, though…guess it shows."

Tataru began fidgeting, extricating his right hand from under the blankets and crossing it against his heart, extending his first two fingers. Kasori was shocked.

"How do you know…?"

"The Water Tribe warrior's salute? My father was a tradesman too." Kasori grinned and returned the gesture.

"Maybe in the future our two peoples can be closer," he hoped aloud.

Tataru stared at him: "With people like you, I am sure that we will be."

With those warm words ringing in his head, Kasori realized something: For as long as he could remember, he had known that he was the Avatar, the world's guardian of peace and balance. He had constantly worried about how he would perform such an impossible task, and the only way he had ever been able to keep from buckling under the weight of it all was to dedicate himself to the here and now: What more could he do but his best right where he was? What more could he do but take things one day and one problem at a time?

That had allayed his doubts and given him some measure of confidence, but now…

For the first time in his life, looking into the eyes of this man whom he had truly managed to help, who had brought to him a problem of imbalance, a problem fit for the Avatar to solve, a problem that he had rectified with the help of his friends…

…for the first time in his life, Kasori truly _felt_ like the Avatar.


	9. Bk I, Ch 8, The Princess

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 8: **_**The Princess**_

"Why have we stopped?" Captain Hakanu demanded, coming out of his quarters and glaring around at the crew, who had assembled on the deck and were staring ahead, past the bow of the ship. "The autumnal equinox is barely a week away, and we're supposed to be on our way to the South Pole!"

"You might want to take a look at this, Captain," Unukk called to him from the bow. Kasori and Henyara stood next to him, like the sailors, staring out at the sea immediately south of them. The captain approached, seething, and then paused as if struck dumb when he reached the prow.

"What the…?"

"Fire Navy blockade," Kasori explained rather unnecessarily. The ocean before them was lined with warships flying the Fire Navy and Fire Nation flags; they were forming a cordon across the waterway between two islands…directly in the path of the Water Tribe galleon.

"Why are they blockading this area?" the captain demanded of no one in particular, his ire rekindling, "There're no major installations or strategic positions out here! There's nothing on our charts!"

"Look," Unukk piped up, pointing out across the water, "one of the ships is headed this way."

"Is that what I think it is?" Henyara asked as the ship approached from the south; it hadn't come from the blockade, but from a position near the western island that suggested it had been overseeing the cordoning operations.

"What?" Unukk asked.

"That's the royal flagship," the captain explained, his anger once again giving way to shock, "The personal warship of the Fire Lord!"

"The Fire Lord is _here?_" Unukk yelped. "What for?"

"It's not the Fire Lord," Kasori said; he pointed at the ship's flagstaves: "Look: Only three of the five royal family flags are flying."

"What does that mean?" asked Henyara.

"It means that the crown heir is aboard, not the Fire Lord himself."

"Great," Captain Hakanu muttered sarcastically, "Princess Li Wa…"

"Apparently she wants to talk to us," Kasori observed as the flagship drew closer.

"Well, this won't be fun," the captain muttered.

"You're not the one who has to do it," Henyara remarked; all eyes turned to Unukk, who turned a fierce shade of red.

"Wha — ? _Me?_" he sputtered.

"You're technically the highest-ranking person aboard," Kasori reminded him sympathetically, "and she's the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation. It's protocol." Unukk sighed.

"I hate politics," he mumbled.

"Ah, cheer up," Henyara ordered him, jabbing him with her elbow, "How bad can she be?"

"Pretty bad," the captain answered honestly. "I hear she's quite — " He stopped abruptly upon spotting the withering looks on Kasori and Henyara's faces.

"Okay," Unukk said resolutely, taking a deep breath, "let's prepare to greet the princess."

"All hands, below decks!" the captain bellowed to the men behind him, who immediately scrambled to obey his order. Once they had all vanished into the hull of the galleon, Unukk turned to Henyara; he tugged at his collar nervously before speaking up.

"Uh, Henyara…don't you think you should go below, too?" Kasori smirked: He was a Master, Unukk was the prince, and Captain Hakanu was, well, the captain, so they all had justification for staying to greet the Crown Princess, but Henyara…

She folded her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows; Unukk turned red again.

"I am _not_ missing this," she said meaningfully. Unukk nodded. Kasori chalked it up to their lifelong friendship that she hadn't reacted more angrily.

"Yeah, sure…" They lined up in a wedge, with Unukk at the front, the captain behind him and to his left per military protocol, and Kasori and Henyara behind and to the right. They waited near the mainmast, facing the starboard railing. The royal flagship pulled alongside, and Kasori saw three people standing behind a boarding ramp, which was slowly lowered until it aligned with the Water Tribe galleon, bridging the short stretch of empty air between the two vessels.

The three people advanced across the ramp, and Kasori immediately recognized the individual in the middle as the Crown Princess: She was wearing Fire Navy armor complete with a royal cape of the most brilliant scarlet Kasori had ever seen; judging from her looks, she was perhaps twenty-something years old. Like many of her people, Princess Li Wa had hair that was black as jet and eyes of a fierce amber; her hair was pulled back into a tight topknot capped with a golden hair piece in the form of a flame, affixed by a ceremonial pin.

Kasori could see why the captain had been so unenthused about interacting with her: Princess Li Wa seemed to exude control and authority, and there was something icy in her face and eyes, despite the fact that everything else about her smacked of the fire that symbolized her nation and which she was known for bending so prodigiously. Kasori supposed that she would be considered beautiful – gorgeous, even – if her obvious royalty and assertion thereof didn't get in the way.

The other two individuals appeared dwarfed in her shadow: One was wearing the insignia of an admiral, and the other bore the armor of an Imperial Firebender. Kasori supposed that he was Li Wa's bodyguard. From what he had heard about the princess, she didn't need him.

Li Wa vaulted the railing of the galleon easily, halting a few paces shy of the Water Tribespersons; her two compatriots came to a stop just behind her, the admiral on the left, the bodyguard on the right.

Unukk bowed; Kasori, the captain, and Henyara followed suit, all four of them employing the traditional Fire Nation bow.

"Princess Li Wa," Unukk greeted her, "you grace us with your presence." Li Wa smiled, though the gesture did nothing to warm her countenance. Unukk's voice was calm and steady, though Kasori could tell he was unspeakably nervous. Come to think of it, Kasori found it surprising that he hadn't met Li Wa before. He was, after all, the heir to the chiefdom of the Northern Water Tribe. Comparatively, that made him and Li Wa equal in status. But the Water Tribe had been fairly isolationist in the last decades…

"Prince Unukk of the Northern Water Tribe," Li Wa replied with vitreous courtesy, spotting his sash and evidently recognizing it for what it meant, "the Fire Nation apologizes for this inconvenient intrusion." She and her two subordinates bowed. "Allow me to introduce Admiral Zutonishi," Li Wa continued briskly, waving her hand rather absently in the direction of the admiral who stood behind her; he merely nodded his head. "And this is Urosato — my, ah, _escort_."

_Definitely a bodyguard_, Kasori translated in his mind. The Imperial Firebender made no sign of greeting whatsoever; his face was hidden by the skull-like faceplate he wore, so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. The way Li Wa had uttered the word _escort_, Kasori got the feeling that she didn't appreciate being babysat by her father's guards.

"It is an honor," said Unukk. "This is Captain Hanaku, commander of this vessel." The captain gave a stiff nod. "Master Kasori." Kasori bowed his head respectfully. "And Henyara…a close friend." Unukk almost grimaced, but managed to keep his face inscrutable; Henyara, not bothering with charades, gave the firebenders a halfhearted wave.

"If I may, what brings you to our humble ship, Princess?" Unukk continued in a businesslike voice.

"There is a matter of no small import that I would be interested in discussing with you," Li Wa replied periphrastically, sizing them up with her amber eyes, "but first I must ask: What exactly is a Water Tribe vessel doing in Fire Nation waters?"

"We are on our way to the South Pole for the annual autumnal equinoctial visit," Unukk replied smoothly, managing to match her glassy, crisp, and almost condescending tone. He paused before adding preemptively: "There should be no problem: This is not a warship."

Li Wa arched a single eyebrow and locked eyes with Unukk: "I counted thirty heavy ballistae loopholes on the starboard broadside alone," she observed coolly.

"Your eye is inerrant, Princess," Unukk replied; Kasori was impressed with the cutting dryness he had managed to effect. "But this is a Water Tribe _galleon_, well registered in Fire Nation cognizance as a _civilian_ vessel. We are not flying the naval flag; moreover, thirty is a small number for a ship of this tonnage, and the weapons we do carry are purely for self-defense against pirates and the like."

"Pirates…" Li Wa repeated thoughtfully, "Funny you should mention pirates. They constitute precisely the matter which I wish to discuss."

"Please," Unukk invited, gesturing for her to speak freely, "regale us." Li Wa gave him a viperish smile before speaking again.

"You are well aware that the Fire Nation has been having serious problems with pirates in recent times. In the north, the problem has simply been one of quantity: There are large bands of the brigands scurrying about, wreaking havoc. Here in the south, however, the problem is more of quality: in particular, a singularly influential pirate by the name of Neruse, who commands a sizable band of followers.

"Neruse has been causing problems in the Fire Nation for many years: plundering colonies, sinking trading ships — he has even attacked and destroyed warships sent to pursue him. He is particularly bloodthirsty and grandiose for a pirate, though he excels in their trademark cunning; and he has been labeled by my father's administration as the number-one threat to our maritime security.

"With your tribe's recent assistance tackling the pirate problem up north, I have been given more resources to track down Neruse down here in the south. I have been attempting to end his criminal career for eighteen months now, but only when your chief decided to help us in the north did I obtain the means required for such an enterprise.

"Gathering intelligence from all corners of the Fire Navy, we discovered that many of Neruse's ships pass through this area — through this interinsular watercourse, in fact. So, we cordoned off the area two months ago and have since captured four vessels, intelligence from which we have pinpointed the location of Neruse's stronghold. It happens to be an islet about twenty nautical miles east of here…

"…which is where you come in," Li Wa finished suggestively.

"How so, Princess? It appears you have everything figured out."

"Quite," Li Wa confirmed airily, "but there is a hitch in our plans. The island is in the shape of a crescent, with a cove in the center, connected to the sea by a very narrow channel — barely wide enough for two of my ships to pass through at a time. On the shores of this island, Neruse has built his stronghold, complete with fortifications, the exact specifications of which are unknown to us.

"The hitch is this: The island's outer shores are composed of extremely high and steep cliffs. There is no way we can assault the stronghold by sea without getting a look at their defenses first — that would place my men in unnecessarily exorbitant danger. But we cannot get scouts atop the rim of the cliff: The rocks are far too steep and smooth. They are insurmountable.

"_That_ is how you can help us: I imagine that some of you are waterbenders. With your assistance, we can overtop the natural barriers opposing us and insert scouting parties to reconnoiter Neruse's stronghold, allowing us to better plan our attack." She smiled sweetly. "Once we have dealt with Neruse, this blockade will be dissolved, and your ship can pass through and be on its merry way."

Unukk glanced at Kasori and then at the captain, as though searching for help. Kasori thought that Li Wa's "request" sounded rather much more like an _order_, and she had barely put forth any effort to veil her final threat: If they didn't help, the blockade would not let them pass.

_Guess we just have to play the game_, he supposed with a mental shrug. After all, helping deal with pirates was the point of the Water Tribe's recent policy change towards the Fire Nation in the first place. It was only to be expected that they might attempt to stretch things a bit, especially when they were so beleaguered…

"We would be happy to help you however we can," Unukk replied graciously, "but I and the captain will have to confer with one another and with the crew before we can give you specifics."

"Of course," Li Wa replied silkily, her smile becoming ever so slightly crooked, "I will return in an hour. In the interim, I anxiously await your answer, and again — so sorry for any inconvenience." She added the last bit in an oily tone that left them utterly convinced that she felt no contrition whatsoever. The seven of them all bowed to each other, and the firebenders departed, raising the boarding ramp when they had crossed to their ship.

"Lovely woman," Henyara growled immediately, glaring after the princess.

"We have to play ball, or they'll just make things difficult on us," Unukk placated. "Captain…what do you think?"

"No offense, sir," the captain replied in a gruff but nervous voice, as though trying to simultaneously convey his frustration and preclude any disrespect, "but I don't want to put any of my men at risk under that woman's charge. From what I've heard of Li Wa, she'll risk anything to protect her citizens' lives…but she won't think twice about a few Water Tribesmen." Unukk mused for a moment before responding:

"She only needs us for a scouting mission. That can't be large-scale. We'll only send…six waterbenders with her. I'll be one, and so will Kas and Henyara — if you guys are okay with that!" he added quickly, suddenly sounding afraid of offending them. Henyara snorted and then laughed, giving Unukk a friendly punch in the arm.

"Unukk, haven't fourteen years of antics convinced you that you _never_ have to ask that question?"

"We're in," Kasori translated simply, giving Unukk a reassuring smile. Unukk reciprocated, rubbing his arm.

"Okay, that's three. We've got a dozen other waterbending students aboard. We can pick three out of them. That way, none of your crewmen have to be involved, Captain Hakanu."

"I appreciate that very much, sir," the captain said with a grateful bow.

"Let's head below and tell the men what's up."

"After you, sir."

* * *

"Have you reached a decision, Prince Unukk?" Princess Li Wa asked with a silky smile as she crossed from her flagship to the Water Tribe galleon; she had not bothered to bring either the admiral or her bodyguard, who was standing back on the Fire Nation vessel, his body language alone betraying his frustration with his charge's refractoriness.

"We have, Princess," Unukk replied. In addition to Kasori, Henyara, and the captain, there were three other tribespersons behind him — the three of his peers he had selected to accompany them on the scouting mission. "We will help you, but as I said, this is not a military vessel. The captain and his crew are not bound by the Chief Nattut's antipiracy ordinance. I am therefore not going to put them in danger.

"You can have six of our waterbenders: Master Kasori, as well as myself, Henyara, and three of our fellow students under the esteemed Master Nanuk. No more, and no less." Li Wa smiled.

"That is fair enough," she pronounced. "So I assume that these three are your 'fellow students'?"

"That's correct, Princess," Unukk said, turning to introduce them:

"This is Qalik." Qalik was a tall young man two years older than Unukk, with wild brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a dazzling smile. He had been the class clown of waterbending ever since Kasori could remember — but he was a magnificent bender when he wasn't pelting people with snowballs.

"And Uralam." Uralam was sixteen as well, the quintessence of a teen heartthrob, with suave brown hair, unusually light for a Water Tribesman, soft, urbane gray eyes, and a quiet but charming smile; he simply exuded grace, and his personality was magnetic. Besides that, he excelled in waterbending — just like he excelled in everything else.

"And finally, Yak'ara." Yak'ara was one of the few other female waterbenders besides Henyara who studied under Master Nanuk: She was a somewhat homely girl with avian features epitomized by her beaky nose and sharp black eyes. Her hair was impossibly smooth and drawn back into a tightly braided tail that fell to her waist. She was a very studious girl whom Kasori had often run into at the Water Tribe library, her aquiline nose buried in books and scrolls.

She was a bit of an oddball amongst the benders, but she was greatly talented. She bent with a very traditional style — in fact, everything about her was very traditional (except for her training as a combative waterbender): She wore a dress hemmed in beads, a garb that hadn't been in style for one hundred years, and even her name smacked of older times; it contained an ejective, a sound that hadn't been used in Northern Water Tribe names for a full two centuries. Virtually nobody pronounced it, since the Water Tribe had long since revoked regular use of the language from which it derived.

"Actually, it's properly pronounced, _Yak'ara_," Yak'ara corrected Unukk smartly, emphasizing the ejective _k_, not even batting an eye at her faux pas. Unukk, for all of his aplomb, reddened. Li Wa arched an eyebrow and half turned up her lip in mildly perturbed curiosity.

"Could you repeat that?" she requested dryly.

"Certainly," Yak'ara obliged: "_Ya — K'A — ra_." There was a moment of silence; Li Wa obviously didn't understand how to produce the sound. Unukk exhaled huffily.

"That _is_ how you pronounce her name," he acknowledged somewhat pointedly, "but we tend to just pronounce it _Yakara_. It's _easier_." He growled the last word, glancing at Yak'ara.

"But not correct," Yak'ara added, as though unsure that that point had been properly addressed. Kasori had to repress a laugh: Unukk was visibly seething; Kasori could tell that he was already regretting selecting Yak'ara.

"I see," Li Wa drawled, appearing simultaneously amused and irritated. "Well, may I invite you to the war room aboard my vessel? There we may discuss our plan for scouting Neruse's stronghold."

"After you, m'lady," Unukk affirmed. Li Wa turned on her heel and vaulted back over the railing of the ship, striding across the boarding ramp to her own vessel. The six waterbenders followed her, onto the deck of the Fire Nation ship; they entered a door abaft of the mizzenmast, traversing a hallway and entering a room at the end on the left.

Inside, there was a large, rectangular map spread across the floor; the map detailed the local waters, showing a smattering of small islets so tiny that they didn't register on most world maps. As they entered and took seats around the map at the princess's direction, joining other firebending officers who were already there, waiting for them, Kasori saw that the map was also marked with convoluted red lines, included several lines surrounding the islands where they found themselves now.

_Those must be ship movements_, he realized. The door to the war room remained open, and Urosato, the princess's bodyguard, and Admiral Zutonishi, who Kasori by now had surmised was in charge of the fleet stationed here, entered after them, the latter taking a seat near Her Royal Highness while the former remained standing behind her, alert for threats, improbable though they seemed.

"Now then," Princess Li Wa began crisply once they had all sat down, "let's get down to business, shall we? As you can see from this map, the islet where Neruse has made his base is oriented so that the entrance to the cove faces westward — toward us, that is." She pointed on the map to a crescent-shaped island which had been circled in red and had several lines converging around it.

"Our plan," she continued, "is to reconnoiter the cove by way of the high cliffs, to which we will gain access by way of our waterbending friends here." She waved around at the six waterbenders. "Our aim is to determine the nature and strength of Neruse's defenses so that we can optimize an attack strategy.

"Now, our intelligence and common sense both suggest that Neruse may well have patrols of ships outside the islet, watching for intruders. Moreover, it is imperative that Neruse not suspect an attack, or he will fortify his position further, which will dispose us to greater danger. For these reasons, we will wait for nightfall to conduct our scouting mission.

"With six waterbenders, we should be able to insert multiple teams to recon their position from as many angles. That will give us the clearest picture and the best information. Any questions?" She looked around the table. Unukk spoke up:

"How many teams were you thinking?"

"Three," Li Wa answered immediately, pointing at the islet on the map. "Here, here, and here. The northern, southern, and eastern portions of the rim. That will give us an excellent cross-section of their defenses."

"So three teams with two waterbenders each?" Unukk summarized.

"And, I think, one firebender," Li Wa added. "After all, this is _our_ mission. Can't have you taking all the risk, can we?"

"That's very gracious of you," Unukk observed somewhat dryly. He made no mention of the disproportion of risk between two waterbenders and one firebender.

"Then we're decided," Li Wa concluded with a wolfish smile, "Three teams of three. We'll be in and out quickly and quietly. Now, let's talk specifics…"

* * *

Kasori was still surprised that Li Wa had insisted on coming with him and Yak'ara rather than with Unukk and Qalik; he would have thought that she would want to monitor the prince, but instead she had pressed to join him. She hadn't stopped staring at him since they had left the flagship, under cover of moonlit darkness. Even now, as he guided their ice floe at rapid speed eastward, approaching Neruse's islet, he could sense her piercing gaze burning into the back of his head.

Yak'ara seemed completely oblivious: She was meditating off to the side, sitting perfectly straight and perfectly still; she hadn't moved for twenty minutes.

The moon was nearly full, but there was sufficient cloud cover to drape them in shadows; the sea was still as they rocketed along, the cool, moist air whipping at their faces. Thirty meters on either side, two other ice floes followed parallel courses, guided by Unukk and Qalik on the right and by Henyara and Uralam on the left, both pairs accompanied by one of Li Wa's officers.

Minutes ticked by, blurring into one another as seemingly endless ocean passed in a rapid haze of reflected moon- and starlight speckled with patches of darkness from the clouds above…

And then the islet appeared, first as a tenebrous silhouette on the horizon, and then soon as a looming figure of rock a few kilometers ahead.

"Halt!" Li Wa called out, loud enough for all three groups of waterbenders to hear her; the floes came to a quick but smooth stop. Unukk and Henyara brought theirs in closer so that they were all within normal earshot.

"All right," the princess continued quickly, glancing around with wary vigilance, "here's where we split up. Everyone, be careful and quiet. And watch out for patrolling ships." They all nodded and set off once more, this time proceeding much more slowly and cautiously; Henyara's floe split off southward, whereas Unukk's and Kasori's veered north. They continued on, Unukk's floe eventually moving farther and farther away, taking a more oblique course to bring him and his two comrades to the far side of the islet, while Kasori's floe aimed towards the northwestern edge.

After a few minutes, the two other floes had vanished into the gloom, and not an instant after Kasori finally lost sight of Unukk's, Li Wa spoke up in a quiet growl:

"Ship. Dead ahead. One hundred meters."

"I see it…" He did: A small cutter-style vessel was listing along through the waters, almost as though it were abandoned, but as the distance between them closed, and Kasori slowed the ice floe so that it would make less of a disturbance in the water, he could see shapes moving on deck.

"Hang on," he whispered back to Li Wa and Yak'ara, who still hadn't budged from her meditation, "I'm taking us down."

"Down?" repeated Li Wa. Kasori explained by action: by lifting his hands and then pushing them down forcefully; the leading edge of the ice floe tipped and plunged them straight beneath the waves. As they submerged, Kasori bent the water around them away, forming a pocket of air that allowed them to breathe.

They sank several meters, clearing the hull of the ship and passing quickly under it, moving on towards the islet. Kasori couldn't see it very well from underwater, but he could sense it: a gigantic disruption in the flow of the water ahead…

"Impressive," Li Wa allowed, "Very impressive."

"Not really," Kasori replied dryly, increasing their speed slightly, "this isn't a very advanced technique…"

"He's right," Yak'ara confirmed pedantically, opening one eye but otherwise not moving, "That's an intermediate tier technique, specifically level three of intermediate section two — "

"I think she got the point, Yak'ara," Kasori cut across her flatly, being sure to pronounce the ejective so that she wouldn't hound him. Yak'ara gave a quick, short shrug and resumed her silent meditation.

"This would make an excellent combat tactic," Li Wa mused, "Have your people considered adapting this for naval warfare? You could easily scuttle a dozen ships in moments, _totally_ unseen…"

"As a matter of fact, _yes_, we have," Kasori growled back, irritated by how scrumptious she seemed to find that.

"I'll keep that in mind," she assured him inscrutably. _I'm sure you will…_

They continued on in silence, the dark ocean, all eerily lit with the fragmented, spectral blue moonlight streaming down from above, stirring around them. A strange, dull murmur pervaded everything as the sounds from above were muted by passage through the water.

It was only a matter of minutes before they reached the islet's precipitous shore.

"Everybody hang on — we're resurfacing," Kasori warned them; he lifted his arms in a wide gesture, and the ice floe rose up and broke the surface of the water, thereafter rocketing up into the air, running along the face of the islet wall, coming to halt at the top, where they found themselves level with a rocky ledge perhaps twenty meters wide, running around the periphery of the islet.

"Let's go," Kasori advised; Yak'ara arose easily from her meditative stance, and the three of them disembarked from their ice floe, which Kasori summarily sank back into the ocean below, letting the bonds that held it together dissolve, causing the ice to liquidate and merge totally with the sea, erasing all trace of their covert passage.

"Over here." Li Wa had already crossed to the other side of the ledge, crouching behind a cluster of large rocks; she had a telescope to her eye and was gazing over the edge. Kasori and Yak'ara joined her.

Beyond and below the ledge, the insular cove sparkled in the moonlight, which also revealed Neruse's stronghold, in conjunction with the lit torches with which it was studded — an impressive series of neat, barracks-like structures made of stone on the far left side of the islet, against its easternmost wall. There were several piers dotting a sliver of beach in front of the stronghold where ships could dock, but they were currently unoccupied — except for the one farthest to the right.

"There's a ship at the dock," Kasori observed in a hushed voice. Li Wa swiveled her telescope to where he had indicated; a predatory smile crossed her thin lips.

"That's Neruse's flagship," she told him in a low, feral voice. "He's _here_ — our intel was fuzzy on his current location, but he's definitely _here_…" After a moment of relishing that apparently delicious fact, she moved on, suddenly aiming her telescope almost straight down.

"I've got two watchtowers," Li Wa reported quietly. Kasori looked and saw a small tower several dozen meters below, situated on a rocky ledge jutting out from the higher outer wall, overlooking the mouth of the cove and the channel that connected it to the sea outside. There was another watchtower in similar position on the other side of the channel.

"They're lightly fortified," Li Wa continued, "armed with light ballistae — and barrels marked _quicklime_, next to pots of water."

"Incendiaries," Kasori translated.

"Yes, for destroying ships. Quicklime burns in water — combine it with a ballista bolt, good aim, and a bit of luck, and you can scuttle a warship in a single shot. Coat a bolt in enough of the stuff and fire below the waterline and you can produce a small explosion. A magnificently effective weapon…"

"Unless it gets rained on," Yak'ara remarked. There didn't seem to be much chance of that: The tower was roofed with a thick tarp of animal hide.

"Regardless," Kasori intervened in case Li Wa felt like reprising, "those towers are going to pose a serious threat to any naval assault we plan."

"Agreed," Li Wa said tersely, "We'll have to destroy them beforehand. I don't want my men exposed to that if I can help it."

"You're firebenders," Yak'ara observed, "Couldn't you simply extinguish the flames they produce?"

"We can extinguish fires, yes, but we can't plug holes in ships with our bending!" Li Wa retorted, obviously miffed by Yak'ara's ignorance. "Now let's move on…" She shifted her attention, directing her telescope towards the main stronghold. She swore. "It's a regular fortress…"

Kasori drew a telescope of his own from his belt, extending it and putting it to his eye, scanning the beachfront: There were several catapults entrenched perhaps twenty meters behind the piers. Doing some calculations in his head, Kasori wagered that they would be able to fire on any vessel that entered the cove before it even cleared the channel.

"I see more barrels of quicklime arranged by the catapults on the beach," he reported.

"For a fire wall defense," Li Wa explained. "It's a tactic we use to defend our own shores when they're enclosed like this: You launch the barrels out into the water in a line; the quicklime seeps out of special slots in the barrels, ignites, and explodes, forming a barrier of fire that can at the very least deter ships from approaching."

"Are any of these guys benders?" Kasori asked, wondering if it wouldn't be simpler for a bunch of firebenders to use their bending to the same effect.

"Some of them," Li Wa answered unconcernedly. "Mostly firebenders – renegades from my nation — _criminals_, I assure you – with some earthbenders thrown in. The earthbenders tend to be based on the land, not crewing the ships — for obvious reasons. I'm sure some of them were involved in building this place…" She drifted off, and Kasori refocused his attention on the stronghold, sweeping the beach for any other points of interest.

Finding none, he removed his scrutiny further eastward, towards the periphery of the neatly arranged stone buildings. He spotted several polybolos pieces entrenched in key elevated positions along the rocks, aiming towards the beach. They were arranged in a complex web that provided them with an excellent field of fire on anything that might approach from the water.

"You have another problem," Kasori reported; he directed Li Wa's attention to the light artillery.

"Repeating ballistae — wonderful," she growled. "Those could rip my men apart…"

"Nineteen of them, by my count. More immediately problematic," Kasori added, "they can fire parabolically: They can hit your ships while you're still moving into position. We'll need to take those out too, or at least occupy them — unless you want to stomach the losses until your ships can bombard them."

"I'm not risking my men any more than necessary," Li Wa reminded him caustically. Kasori made no reply, but continued to scan the fortress: Aside from the light artillery emplacements, he could see several parapets from which archers could fire on enemies. The ground immediately surrounding the base of several walls was covered in arrays of stone spikes to block pedestrian passage.

"These guys are remarkably organized and well-equipped for a bunch of pirates," Kasori muttered suspiciously; he returned his telescope to his belt and rounded on Li Wa, who was still scanning the stronghold. "Who exactly _is_ this Neruse character?"

"A very dangerous and intelligent man with access to a vast reservoir of resources," Li Wa answered, sounding bored, not even bothering to look at him.

"That's not the whole story." Li Wa shook her head exasperatedly, stowed her telescope, and looked him dead in the eyes, her boredom now undeniably evident.

"You really want to know? Fine. Neruse was a nobleman — an esteemed member of my father's court, in fact. He was one of the military's greatest patrons, and had several family members who were servicepersons. That is why he has access to military equipment and tactical know-how. And even in his lowly state he clings to his erstwhile station: He calls himself _the Pirate King_."

"How does a man go from nobility to piracy?" Kasori asked. Li Wa rolled her eyes sardonically.

"I wouldn't expect a Water Tribesman to understand. Your people are famous for your _loyalty_. In the wider world, loyalty is just as often _bought_ as _bred_," she explained disgustedly; the wrath in her voice was pure poison. "A lot of noblemen become criminals for the extra gold — or even just for a bit of _fun_.

"In answer to your question…many years ago, Neruse began to disagree with my father over a myriad of administrative decisions."

"Like what?"

"It doesn't matter," Li Wa assured him hotly, "Anyway, their disagreements became sharper and more, ah, volatile over the years, until eventually Neruse defected from the Fire Nation and incited an insurrection in the Capital City that nearly took my father's life.

"Understandably, the Fire Lord was furious: He branded Neruse a traitor and formally banished him from the Fire Nation. Neruse had anticipated that: He was long gone, as was all of his amassed wealth — a considerable fortune. He resurfaced about a year later, at the head of this band of pirates."

_Well, that explains the stronghold_, Kasori thought: It looked more like a military compound than a pirate hideout. And Kasori knew about military compounds: In the Water Tribe, _every_ male was trained as a warrior from a very young age. It was a deeply rooted part of their culture.

_That's not all it explains, though…_

"So that's why you're out here hunting him down," he said aloud.

"Beg pardon?" she asked silkily; her expression was a flawless mask of mild quizzicality, but he could see through her eyes and hear through her voice that she knew exactly what he meant:

"I've been wondering since you first mentioned your mission why the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation would deign to adopt the menial task of tracking down a mere pirate. Now I see. This isn't just an assignment to you; this man nearly killed your father: This is _personal_."

Li Wa's amber eyes narrowed dangerously, and an almost murderous look entered them. She rose up from where she had been crouching the entire time; she was slightly taller than him.

"_Nothing_ is personal with me," she assured him in an icily calm voice. "I am tracking this man because he is a threat to my nation and _my people_, over two hundred of whom have lost their lives to him since his defection. He is a dangerous criminal — a traitor of the highest sort. I am not seeking _vengeance_ — I am seeking _justice_." She paused a moment and suddenly smiled; it struck Kasori as a wicked gesture. "I would think that _you_, of all people, would understand."

"What do you mean by that?" Kasori asked; he didn't like the implicative way that she had said that. Why should _he_ understand more than others?

Could she…could she possibly know that he was the Avatar?

_That's ridiculous — the Moon Spirit hasn't announced my identity yet, and won't for over a year!_

_But the Fire Sages might have told her — she _is_ the princess, after all…_

_No, that's stupid. If they knew, wouldn't they have proclaimed it to the Fire Nation? _

_Not if they feel bound by the tradition to keep it secret until I'm sixteen. Maybe they only told the royal family…_

"I know a thing or two about you, Kasori of the Northern Water Tribe," Li Wa assured him smilingly, "Or perhaps I should call you _Green Eyes_."

Kasori blinked: "What?" Li Wa's cocky smile broadened.

"When your chief pledged his support to the Fire Nation's antipiracy campaigns, my father briefly dispatched me to the Earth Kingdom to discuss our expanded operations with Earth King Weizin, to ensure that we didn't step on his maritime toes. While I was in Omashu on my errand, I heard rumors of a green-eyed waterbender stirring things up in the northern ports, busting hardened criminals from the shadows.

"You've garnered quite a reputation for yourself," she concluded with mock pride, "In fact, you're something of a legend in the Earth Kingdom now. The king himself had heard of you."

"What makes you think those _rumors_ are about me?" Kasori challenged.

"Please, Kasori, don't insult my intelligence," she implored with a dry wave of the hand, "Green is an extremely rare eye color in the Water Tribe, and besides, your name isn't exactly a guarded secret: It was included in the rumors."

"What's your point?" Kasori demanded.

"My _point_," Li Wa answered silkily, "is that you understand my drive for justice. You and I are actually very much alike."

"We'll see," Kasori muttered, turning away from her and looking out over Neruse's stronghold. "We'll see."

"Yes," she agreed softly, "we will." She lapsed into a moment of silence before moving on, as though nothing at all had happened: "We should get back to base. I think we've seen all we need to. Tomorrow, the real work begins."


	10. Bk I, Ch 9, The Pirate King

**VOLUME I:**_** TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 9: **_**The Pirate King**_

Kasori, Unukk, and Li Wa disembarked atop the rim of the islet, the ice floe that had been their ferry sinking back into the ocean below. They scurried to the boulders where they had reconnoitered the stronghold barely twenty-four hours before, Li Wa drawing her telescope and surveying the cove.

After much strategizing, they had decided, together with Li Wa's senior military officials, to conduct the raid at night: It would provide them with the cover of darkness to obscure their preliminary movements, which aimed to neutralize Neruse's first lines of defense without raising an alarm.

Moreover, moving in at night would make it easier for Li Wa's landing force and its convoy to bypass Neruse's patrolling ships without incident; the latter would be mopped up by a secondary force more suited to the task. That would give them the greatest chance of taking the pirates completely by surprise with their main assault. Hopefully, as all smooth battle operations went, this one would be over before it started.

Of course, any soldier would scoff at that: There was no such thing as _smooth_ operations. Only lucky ones.

But sometimes luck could be forged, and there was another advantage that the night gave them: the moon.

It was full tonight; even as he crouched quietly and calmly behind a rock, inactive other than his sweeping eyes and racing mind, both alert for threats, Kasori could feel its power coursing through him like lunar lightning. He felt as though the entire ocean was crying out to him, opening itself to him, surrendering to his will — all he would have to do was flick his hand, and the seas themselves would rise up —

_Focus, Kas…calm yourself…_ Kasori closed his eyes and took several deep, slow breaths before opening them again. Sometimes the power of the full moon could be…intoxicating.

But now wasn't the moment for delusions of grandeur.

Li Wa swore angrily. "Fantastic!" she growled, pointing towards the docks. Kasori looked: There were four more ships docked there than there had been yesterday. "We hadn't planned for _five _ships — only one…"

Kasori almost had to repress a smirk: What was the saying? _Strategy is a song that is rewritten as it's played…_ An old Water Tribe martial adage.

"Why on earth are there other ships here?" Li Wa was hissing furiously, "Neruse wouldn't — " Suddenly she stopped, grinned, and began cackling softly. "Of course — it's too perfect!" She took another peek through her telescope before continuing: "I recognize those ships. They're the flagships of Neruse's top four commodores — his inner circle of commanders. They must be here, meeting with him! We'll get them all — topple the whole wretched lot of them with one fell swoop!"

"Let's slow down," Unukk cautioned sagely, "We're getting ahead of ourselves."

"Of course, of course," Li Wa muttered absently, though the predatory look in her eyes did not fade. "Everything seems quiet," she reported after a moment's observation. "Clear to engage the watchman."

"I'll cover you," Kasori whispered to Unukk, who nodded; he lifted his hands, and with the slightest whooshing sound, a sizable stream of water rose up over the ledge from the ocean outside the islet, weaving through his loosely-held hands, which he moved gently forward, guiding the ribbon of water in an arc to the watchtower, freezing as it went.

With the grace and poise of a trained waterbender, Unukk hopped onto the frozen stream, gliding easily down it and rolling into the watchtower directly behind its single operator, who was facing out over the channel. Kasori watched as Unukk kicked out his knee and blood choked him into unconsciousness, letting his inert form slump to the ground as he drew a bone knife and easily sliced through the thick sinew string of the tower's ballista, effectively disabling it.

Unukk sheathed his knife, turned, and gave an _all clear_ signal.

_Twenty seconds…not bad at all…_

"Clear," Kasori reported in a whisper to Li Wa, who had been scanning the immediate area, to ensure that no one sneaked up on them. She nodded, stowed her telescope, stood, and faced the opposite side of the channel; she lifted her left hand to shield her right, which released a small burst of flame from the index finger. A moment later, an identical signal came from the far side, a momentary red shimmer in the darkness.

"Clear over there, too," Li Wa translated. "Let's get moving."

Unukk was already descending the watchtower stairs; Kasori swept his hands back, drawing up the frozen slide he had used to enter the tower and compressing it into a disk of ice. He and Li Wa stepped onto the disk, which carried them straight down to the rocky ledge below, where they joined Unukk.

"Thanks for the ride," Kasori said to him, passing him the water; Unukk smiled as he took it, compressed it, and froze it into a belt around his waist.

"Any time." The three of them followed the ledge as it wrapped around the islet's perimeter, pausing at a point midway across the length of the cove, where a small group of rocks provided decent cover.

"Time for phase two," Li Wa muttered. "We'll have to revise, though — to deal with those ships."

"I'll handle the ships," Kasori assured her, "You and Unukk proceed with the artillery."

"You're going to take out five ships on your own?"

"Full moon, right?" Kasori replied shortly. Li Wa smiled.

"Sure." She darted away along the ledge, heading towards an outcropping that overlooked the beach directly; Unukk stayed a moment.

"Good luck, Kas," he whispered, giving him the warrior's salute. Kasori smiled and reciprocated.

"You too, Unukk." Unukk nodded and spun on his heel, racing to join the princess. Kasori turned to face the cove, glancing sideways and waiting for Unukk and Li Wa to get into position. When he saw that they had, he closed his eyes, focusing on the energy of the full moon coursing through his blood.

Immediately, its power turned itself over to him, as it had so many times before; his fingertips virtually tingled with anticipation, waiting to unleash the power surging within him.

_Focus on what you have to do_.

He had to clear the docks so that Li Wa's forces could land, and he had to disable those ships so that they could not harass the Fire Navy's own vessels. _Clear the docks, disable the ships_.

That was certainly doable, even without the full moon.

And _with_ it? _Piece of cake…_

Calmly, Kasori extended a single hand; he could sense, through the water of the cove, the ropes binding the ships to the anchors that held them in place. With a simple tug of his mind, the water surrounding and saturated the ropes sliced cleanly through them with perfect ease.

Another tug, and the waters shifted, no longer placid and still, but energized and directed; the ships began to move, carried gently but inexorably by the waves beneath them out into the open cove.

Now the clock was ticking: It was only a matter of minutes before _someone_ somewhere noticed that the ships had begun to move; now was the time to drop the charade…in a dramatic way.

Kasori tightened his hand into a fist, drew it back, and then launched it into a single swift punch: The waters beneath the five ships swirled, compressed, and arose in violent fashion, boring straight up through the hulls and tearing the mainmasts to shreds, sending rigging and bits of wood and metal flying about and emitting a horrible, sonorous roar. The water froze as it reached its peak, towering as tall as the masts it had just obliterated, the ships' remains splitting away and littering the cove with a mass of detritus. Kasori could see men struggling to swim after being so abruptly flung into the ocean, and many more clinging to the wreckage.

_Well, that'll certainly attract some attention…_

* * *

"Impressive," Princess Li Wa muttered, watching as the five ships were ripped apart by immense skewers of ice. Unukk, who was watching the beach below them, didn't like the barbaric admiration she seemed to have for anything that could crush enemies more efficiently than conventional weaponry.

"Let's focus, shall we?" he suggested.

"Right," she replied, immediately snapping to attention, "Time to deal with the third line of defense…"

Simultaneously, they moved: Li Wa stepped to the side and began rapid-firing fire blasts, targeting the ballista emplacements, which began to explode with bursts of flame, smoke, and shrapnel of wood and metal; Unukk swept his arms from right to left, bringing in a wave from the cove and spraying it across the catapults, drenching the barrels of quicklime that sat near them, which subsequently exploded with violent force, demolishing the artillery they were meant to arm.

When the smoke cleared from the beachhead, every catapult lay in complete ruin, the sand around them churned, blackened, and sprinkled with burning debris. Unukk glanced towards the stronghold proper to his left, seeing that Li Wa had destroyed most of the ballistae on the north side of the compound; in the distance, bursts of light could be seen as Urosato, accompanied by Qalik and Uralam, performed the same task on the southern side.

By this point, an alarm bell was ringing out from a tower at the far northeastern end of the stronghold; Unukk spotted it and, enriched with the power of the full moon, hurled a massive stream of pressurized water at it, blasting the bell out of the belfry and sending it crashing against the far wall of the islet.

The alarm was silenced, but the damage was done: Pirates were streaming out of the stronghold in droves, some armed with the conventional swords and daggers, others carrying balls of fire or hunks of earth that they had summoned from the ground beneath their feet; Unukk spotted archers taking up positions in the parapets, too.

"Look out!" he shouted to Li Wa, streaming a large amount of water from the ocean and across the princess's face, freezing it just in time to deflect an arrow that had been headed straight for her right eye; Unukk jumped to her side and struck the ice with a jab, sending a bolt of the stuff hurtling towards the offending archer, shattering his bow in his face and clipping his shoulder hard enough to audibly break it; Unukk preserved momentum, pushing the entire stream forward, melting it into a vast wave that swamped the small crowd of pirates that had gathered beneath their ledge, preparing to climb up to them. Unukk froze them in their tracks — literally.

"Thanks for that," Li Wa muttered, sounding surprised that her life had been saved by a Water Tribesman.

"Don't mention it," Unukk murmured sheepishly, not sure whether she was genuinely grateful or not. Thankfully, the awkward moment was broken up when Kasori came up behind them.

"Where exactly have you been?" Li Wa snapped at him, incinerating an arrow aimed at her while Unukk blasted the archer with a powerful water whip.

"Cleaning up your mess," Kasori replied witheringly, "You missed several of those repeating ballistae — I was taking them out so they didn't turn and shred _you_ into fire flakes."

"It got a little hectic up here a little fast," Li Wa retorted, hammer punching an incoming fire blast, dissipating it easily and throwing a retaliatory punch, sending a jet of flames at the shooter.

"Can we focus, please?" Unukk asked, deflecting a boulder hurled at him by an earthbender with a large blast of water from the ocean. "The benders are concentrating their attention up here and this isn't the most defensible position against earthbending!"

As he finished his sentence, the earthbender whose attack he had nullified launched himself up into the air by way of a rock pedestal, spinning rather gracefully for a pirate and landing behind them atop the ledge.

Li Wa launched a fireball at him, which he blocked by erecting a wall of earth, subsequently shattering it into sharp shards of rock and hurling them at the princess; Unukk was already drawing up another large stream of water, with which he summarily deluged the rock shards; he proceeded to bring the tail end of the stream whipping around in a ferocious blow at the earthbender's head, but the man ducked under the water and kicked the ground hard, sending a fissure Unukk's way.

Kasori yanked Unukk away as the fissure erupted into a jagged spike where he had been standing a moment before, and Li Wa backed them up with a jet of incredibly hot flames, forcing the earthbender back as the earth shields he erected were demolished by the sheer heat of her attack.

"We've got more of them coming our way," Unukk pointed out, directing Kasori's attention over the ledge and towards the beach, where at least a dozen pirates were gearing up to scale the rocks to their position. Two of them were firebenders and, as Unukk was speaking, hurled fireballs at them.

The two waterbenders ducked, shielding their faces with their hands as the boulders behind which they were crouched rumbled and crackled from the impact of the searing blasts.

"Okay, you take care of these guys — I'll help Li Wa with the crazy earthbender," Kasori suggested.

"Got it." Kasori darted off, and Unukk faced the cove, lifting his hand and drawing it fluidly back, erecting a monstrous wave that subsequently crashed against the beach: What was left of the quicklime hissed loudly and gave the occasional pop, emitting bursts of light and fire as the pirates gave a unitary yowl; they were forced to the ground by the inexorable force of the water, which also had the wonderful side effect of precluding any counterattack from the firebenders. From there, it was a simple matter to freeze the deluge into a sheet of ice that immobilized them all completely.

_Why do they always fall for the same trick twice?_ Unukk wondered briefly before turning his attention back to the rampaging earthbender — the _formerly_ rampaging earthbender: Kasori was securing his hands and feet with ice cuffs as he twitched and moaned on the ground, obviously qi-blocked.

"I'm going to have to learn how to do that…" Li Wa was muttering, staring down at the incapacitated pirate. Just then, a jet of flame appeared on the opposite side of the cove, rocketing straight up into the sky. "Light artillery's gone from the south side," she translated rapidly before lifting two fingers and mimicking the signal.

"Third line's collapsed," Kasori summarized, "time for phase three."

"Time for _reinforcements_," Li Wa added, lifting two fingers again: This time, however, instead of flames, there was a powerful concussive _crack_, producing a subtle echoic _boom_ in its wake, and a bolt of blue-white lightning cut a jagged line from Li Wa's fingertips through the oceanic air and into the night sky, searing a refulgent scar across the equally refulgent full moon.

* * *

_What's taking them?_ Henyara wondered impatiently, watching the sky just above the islet from the deck of the lead ship in a squadron of four that Li Wa had detailed to convoy the landing force. For the last several minutes, there had been a series of booms and bangs and flashes of red-orange light emanating from within the island's secluded cove.

Then, a bright bolt of lightning split the sky, sending its radiant flash and a shock wave of sound rolling through the heavens.

_Go time!_

"That's our signal!" she shouted to the captain, who was standing near the helmsman.

"Full sail!" the captain bellowed; the sails of the warship unfurled, and the vessel lurched, speeding forward towards the mouth of the channel. "Forward battery at the ready!" Several sailors scrambled into position, manning the half dozen catapult-style weapons arranged around the deck, just ahead of the foremast, loading them with stone missiles coated in a pitch formula that could be ignited by firebending.

The squadron sailed along the southwestern wall of the islet, yawing to starboard into the mouth of the channel, straightening and debouching quickly into the cove proper, two ships at a time, followed quickly by the troop transport.

Henyara immediately saw that Kas and the others were in dire need of backup: Smoke and fire blanketed the beachfront, and as she watched, more jets of flames were materializing on the ledges that flanked the stronghold on the north and south sides; the water nearest the beach was being constantly disturbed as the waterbenders ashore drew ammunition from its depths.

"We better double-time it!" she yelled back to the captain, who nodded to a signaler, who proceeded to take a pair of war fans and, by the light of the torches crowning the stern, began signaling the other three ships of the squadron; as one, the four vessels accelerated, rapidly pulling into positions in the center of the cove. The troop carrier took up a position behind them and waited to make its entrance.

"Furl the sails and hold steady!" the captain commanded, "All pieces stand to and prepare to fire! Artillerists, _ignite!_" The artillerists obeyed: The missiles burst into roaring flames, and the air was filled with a horrible stench as the pitch burned with a yellowish glow. "Take aim!" The artillerists obeyed again, ensuring that their weapons were aimed low and towards the center of the stronghold, to avoid placing the two forward ground teams in danger.

"FIRE!" With a series of rumbling thumps, the catapults launched their payloads; the fiery missiles traced smoky arcs across the night sky before slamming into the stronghold with a cavalcade of loud booms and crashes, the stone buildings quaking and crumbling as they were bombarded.

Meanwhile, Henyara had moved to an after, portside position. _My turn_, she thought, rubbing her hands together excitedly, ready to finally take part in the action.

She breathed deeply, drinking in the power of the full moon above, and moved forward, taking one fluid step after another, drawing up a large, concentrated stream of water from the ocean, finally sinking her weight onto her forward foot and bringing her right up arm up into a skyward punch: The water hurtled forward in an arc, freezing into a monstrous missile of ice, soaring towards the main building of the stronghold, situated at the rear, against the eastern islet wall…

The spear struck the building, releasing a cascade of rock and dust as it all came crashing to the earth in a furious avalanche of destruction. Even from this distance, Henyara could hear the yells of pirates scurrying for cover as everything came toppling down on top of them.

_Run, boys, run_, she called out to them in her mind.

"You were off by four degrees," Yak'ara observed, coming up behind her. Henyara scowled.

"Bite my blubber, Yak'ara."

* * *

Kasori watched as the ships continued to bombard the coast of the islet, sending pirates fleeing as buildings collapsed into a growing sea of stone and debris. The initial salvo had completely shattered the pirates' already tenuous defense, and they had lost even the remotest shred of discipline: The raid had become a rout.

Henyara's ice spear attack had totally crushed the main structure, scattering torches and – since the spear didn't melt but merely buried itself in the earth – causing nearby brush to ignite, spreading a jagged line of flames across the stony waste; the spear had split into enormous chunks, like boulders, that rolled away from ground zero, causing secondary damage and punching holes in the fires.

"Well, that was effective," Kasori observed quietly, watching the devastation; the pirates were no longer concerning themselves with the two trios of benders on their flanks, and were more focused on fleeing the cascade of burning missiles raining down on them from the four ships in the cove.

"Yes, and the main headquarters building is completely demolished — all just as planned," Li Wa said coldly.

"This is a lot of artillery fire," Kasori mentioned loudly over the booms of the salvos landing barely fifty or sixty meters away, "Aren't you worried that Neruse'll be killed before you can get to him?"

"Not at all," Li Wa answered smoothly. "But, I think they've had just about enough. Time for phase four." She fired a jet of flames into the sky.

"Signal number two!" Henyara called out in between peppering the shoreline with blasts of water.

"Still the battery!" the captain bellowed over the din of the battle. The artillerists, who were poised to ignite the next salvo, halted immediately. The signaler relayed the order to the other ships, and in moments, everything was quiet except for the distant crackle of the burning coast.

The transport carrier entered their ranks, passing quickly between the four frigates and heading rapidly towards the shore. Aboard was a full company of firebenders, whose job it was to secure the beachhead.

"Time for us to step it up," Henyara said to Yak'ara: They began showering the beach with thick spears of ice that shattered into bombs of deadly shrapnel upon landing; they gradually swept their fusillade eastward, combing up the smoldering sands to the edge of the ruined buildings, clearing a path for the landing party. They could see shapes in the firelight, racing away from the incoming hail. Occasionally, a jet of flames would spurt from the ledges flanking the stronghold, taking down stragglers who presented themselves to the firebenders' fury.

The troop transport reached the beach, and Henyara and Yak'ara stilled their fire.

"All up to the boys now," Henyara muttered.

"There're our reinforcements," Li Wa said; Kasori watched as the last of the ice spears crashed down on the ruins and the troop carrier hit the beach, deploying several disembarkation ramps; firebenders, their armor shimmering eerily in the smoky moonlight, poured off the vessel, splashing into the shallow water and rapidly dispersing across the beachfront.

"Let's get down there," the princess continued; Unukk drew the ice belt he was still wearing into his hands, letting it decompress and shaping it into a ramp that descended from the ledge to a spot near the prow of the carrier, overpassing the pirates that he had frozen earlier. They all hopped on, even Li Wa, who was surprisingly agile on the ice despite not being a waterbender, and slid down to the beach.

"Lieutenant," the princess said loudly and firmly the moment her boots hit the scorched sand, approaching an officer who was barking orders to the men rushing around him. The lieutenant turned and snapped to attention.

"Yes, Princess?"

"The pirates' resistance is stiffer than expected. We have routed them, but take no chances: Make your push more aggressive. The tactical approach remains unchanged: First Platoon secures the beach, Second and Third sweep the ruins. I and the waterbenders will be searching for Neruse. Urosato's team should join you shortly to assist in combing the ruins for survivors."

"Aye, Princess." Li Wa turned on her heel and strode off at a brisk, purposeful pace, delving into the haze of smoke and dust, boots crunching on bits of wood, ice, and glassed sand; Kasori looked at Unukk, who grimaced, and they followed her.

After a minute's walk – picking their way through the sea of detritus, marred with flames and scorch marks and pockmarked by craters from the artillery strikes – they had left the main lines behind, and a strange quiet settled around them as the sounds of the ongoing rout faded slightly.

"Do you really expect to find anyone in this mess?" Kasori finally asked rather stiffly.

"I don't have expectations," Li Wa replied hollowly. Kasori looked at Unukk, who shrugged.

"Even if Neruse is back here, he's probably buried under three feet of rubble," Kasori continued stonily.

"Then we won't find him," Li Wa concluded silkily. A moment later, she halted; Kasori and Unukk followed suit, exchanging a confused glance. "This is where the command building stood," Li Wa continued more seriously, looking around. "Spread out and call if you find something." Without another word, she launched herself into the mass of debris ahead, vanishing in a wreath of smoke.

"Determined, isn't she?" Unukk muttered.

"She's more than determined," Kasori corrected quietly, staring at the spot where she had vanished, "She's obsessed. Like a hunter…"

"…stalking her prey…" Unukk completed. They were silent a moment.

"Keep your eyes open, and be careful," Kasori advised.

"Yeah…you too…" They split up, taking separate paths into the belligerent mist.

It was eerie, walking through the smoke and dust, which was only barely penetrated by the moonlight, listening to the disembodied sounds of battle — the shouts, the clangs, the bangs, the booms. Worst were the yells of pain and death as men were struck down by blade and fire. On top of it all were the scattered rumblings of shifting stones and the faint crackling of the flames that still smoldered in isolated pockets.

Kasori hadn't even noticed that he had drawn his knife.

"Over here! I found something!" came Unukk's voice from not far off. Kasori sheathed his knife and raced in the direction from which his voice had emanated out of the mist; the rubble flashed by as he ran, and soon the shape of a partially collapsed wall materialized from the gloom.

Unukk was standing by the wall, staring at a pile of debris at its base; immediately, Kasori knew that something was wrong: Unukk had covered his mouth with one hand and was hunched over, leaning against the remains of the wall with his other hand; as Kasori approached, he saw that his friend's eyes were wet — though that could have been from the sting of the smoke.

"Unukk?" he proceeded gently, touching Unukk's shoulder, "Are you okay?" Unukk wiped his mouth and then his eyes, taking several deep, calming breaths before answering.

"Y-Yeah, Kas…just…not the most pleasant sight in the world." Kasori looked and saw what Unukk meant: Obscured behind the heap of rubble was a man's body — or, rather, his head, which was all that was visible, the rest being blanketed in rock and debris.

And even the head was only visible halfway: The other half was completely crushed, with brain matter, blood, and a viscous tar formed from serum, dirt, and particles of wood oozing out of the wound, which had apparently long since gushed a large pool onto the scorched, rock-strewn earth around them. Kasori hadn't noticed the little splash he had made as his boots stepped into the noxious, sepulchral soup.

"Oh…" he mumbled, now understanding the nauseated look on Unukk's face.

"Guess I'm not much of a warrior, huh?" Unukk tried to laugh; his breath caught in his throat, and his hand jumped to his mouth in an evident reflex to quell his urge to vomit.

"Being a warrior doesn't mean you have to like carnage," Kasori told him quietly.

"Yeah…"

"What have you found?" Li Wa demanded, suddenly appearing out of the haze.

"This one of your commodores?" Unukk asked, pointing at the half pulverized head. Li Wa knelt down and examined it, not flinching in the slightest at the gruesome sight or at the hideous stench it was giving off.

"Yep, that's Commodore Izudo," she told them quite dispassionately. "He was a criminal his entire life — grew up in a merchant family and started with petty theft, ultimately ended up killing a man. Totally unfeeling monster. Good riddance," she spat, straightening up.

"Good riddance to _you!_" a voice roared out of the haze; a man appeared, rushing towards Li Wa, a knife in hand —

Unukk stepped in, launching a swift kicked to the man's forward knee; there was a loud, horrible _crack_, and the man crumpled, dropping his knife to the ground with a clang as he yowled in pain; Unukk didn't even allow him to drop to the ground before drawing a stream of water from the air and blasting him against the dilapidated wall, freezing him to the stone.

Kasori took a look at the man as he gasped and groaned in pain: He was smeared from head to toe in rock dust, soot, and blood, and his clothes – which, clean and by the light of day might have been spiffy – were torn in several places; he was missing a tooth — ejected by blunt force, as evinced by the blood all over his face and still trickling steadily from his mouth.

"Well, well, well," clucked Princess Li Wa, not missing and beat and completely unfazed, "Commodore Hishitane. How the mighty have fallen…"

"You ought to know," the man shot back in between sharp huffs of pain. Each word resulted in a rivulet of blood dribbling from his mouth and running slowly down the ice that pinned him to the wall.

"Let's get to the point," Li Wa drawled, "Where is Neruse?" Hishitane's only reply was to screw up his face in pain and effort…and attempt to spit in the princess's eye; sensing the projectile coming, Li Wa swiped her hand in front of her, and the incoming droplet of blood and saliva vanished in a burst of flame.

Princess Li Wa smiled wickedly.

"You know I'll find him eventually," she told the man saccharinely.

"Then what do you need me for?" Hishitane did his best to snarl.

"Good question!" Li Wa congratulated him brightly; her cloying smile vanished, replaced with a look of stone-cold disgust. "I don't," she growled, and suddenly she slashed her hand across his body, a blade of fire following her fingertips and slicing cleanly through the man's chest, melting the ice and elicited a cloud of steam as the flames shot through the commodore's heart.

Hishitane's eyes dilated and then went blank, the light snuffed out of them. Kasori and Unukk stared in shock, caught totally by surprise. Li Wa spun on her heel and made to leave.

"Two down and three more to go," she said perfunctorily, "Let's get moving."

"He was unarmed!" Unukk protested, anger flaring up in his voice, "And completely immobilized! And you just _killed_ him!" Li Wa rounded on him, eyes glistening dangerously.

"He was an enemy of the Fire Nation," she explained icily, "Piracy is a capital crime under Fire Nation law." Her amber eyes narrowed. "Do you have a problem with that, Prince Unukk?" Kasori was surprised to see Unukk's face harden; for a moment – had he not known his friend as well as he did – he would have sworn that he saw hatred in his sapphire-blue eyes.

"I don't have a problem with your laws," Prince Unukk told Princess Li Wa, "I have a problem with your execution of them."

Li Wa took a step forward, as though to attack Unukk, and without thinking, before he knew what he was doing, Kasori stepped between them, hand shifting calmly but meaningfully to the handle of his knife. He saw Li Wa glance at it before looking back at Unukk, who, for his part, hadn't even flinched.

The princess snorted and turned back around, walking away.

"Lodge a complaint with my father," she suggested wintrily. "_Let's get moving_."

"Jeez," Unukk muttered once she was out of earshot, "I thought she was gonna blast me with a bolt of lightning!"

"I know," Kasori replied, staring after the princess, his hand hovering for a moment more on his knife, "I don't trust her…"

"Does anyone?"

Kasori shook his head, and they set off, following Li Wa.

After a few more minutes of wandering through the smoke, she suddenly paused, turning up her nose and sniffing at the air.

"What is that smell?" she asked of no one in particular. Kasori sniffed; underneath the horrendous odor of smoke, burning wood, dust, blood, and death all mixed together, there was a subtler, rawer, and somehow more enticing scent…

"Komodo sausage," Kasori decided. Li Wa looked at him with curiosity tainted with suspicion.

"How does a northerner like you know what Komodo sausage smells like?" Kasori didn't much care for her patronizing tone.

"Call me a cosmopolitan," he answered sassily.

"Neruse's penchant for Komodo sausage was quite famous among the higher nobility," Li Wa continued, completely ignoring his remark. She laughed sinisterly under her breath. "And tonight it will be his ultimate undoing. It's coming from this way. Come on." She set off swiftly through the haze, Kasori and Unukk following behind.

They overtopped a hill of rubble, coming to a small clearing that had probably been a pocket between buildings; the debris here was thinner, and Kasori could actually see some scorched grass on the ground, and even a few smatterings that were still green.

Ten meters ahead, three shapes were swimming in the smoke; as they closed to a few feet, the shapes revealed themselves to be three men, all wearing official-looking but also somewhat foppish clothing, staggering as though they had just managed to extricate themselves from the surrounding devastation.

"Neruse the Pirate King," Li Wa addressed the man in the middle, a predatory smirk crossing her lips. "It's been a long time."

"Yes…yes it has," Neruse coughed. He was a man who had every appearance of gentility, even in his unkempt, bedraggled state; he had shockingly soft gray eyes marked by a surprisingly paternal gleam, accompanied by sleek, iron-gray hair that, even matted with dust, had a militaristic neatness to it. "I haven't seen you since you were a little girl."

"I am not a girl any longer," Li Wa assured him icily.

"No, but you haven't changed a bit," Neruse remarked, almost as if to himself. "I suppose you remember Commodores Takawo and Ataritsuno — they tell me they've run across you before."

"Yes, I recall making their acquaintances," Li Wa replied darkly; she lifted her hands and extended two fingers on each, firing twin bolts of flame straight through the commodores' hearts; the two men crumpled to the earth, dead, their bodies smoldering.

Li Wa didn't bat an eye.

"That's four down," she told Neruse, "and that only leaves you, _Your Majesty_." She spat the last two words with ineffable derision.

"Mark my words, Princess," Neruse rasped gravely, not flinching at the obvious threat in her voice, though he appeared saddened by the abrupt deaths of his comrades, "The Fire Nation will pay for its corruption! I am just the first of _many_ messengers! You cannot silence us all!"

"But I _will_ silence _you!_" Li Wa snarled. "Consider yourself dethroned, _Pirate King!_" Before either Kasori or Unukk could make a move to stop her, Princess Li Wa extended two fingers again: There was a loud _crack_ and a boom of thunder, and a jagged bolt of lightning sprang from her fingertips, striking Neruse squarely over his heart.

Arcs of electricity wreathed around the Pirate King's body as he dropped to the ground, his skeleton flashing into view as the current raced through him; he was dead before he hit the debris-strewn earth, his body smoking and still twitching with streams of blue-white light.

With cosmic irony, his head landed sideways on one of the few patches of green grass remaining, as though it were to provide his final pillow. His eyes stared blankly and unseeingly at his executioner.

Li Wa lowered her arm, turned smartly on her heel, and smiled.

"Well," she said in a breathy, refreshed voice, as though she had just emerged from an invigorating bath, "that's that." She approached Unukk, and Kasori tensed. "Prince Unukk," she said in a bright, crisp tone, "allow me to extend to you my formal thanks on behalf of the Fire Nation, for your unreserved and gracious assistance in resolving this most important matter."

Unukk and Kasori shared a glance.

"The Water Tribe is always happy to help its friends," Unukk replied carefully. Li Wa cocked her head.

"The blockade will be disbanded first thing in the morning, and you can be on your way."

"Thank you, Princess." Li Wa smiled more broadly and then turned to Kasori.

"Master Kasori," she began silkily, "may I have a private word?"

Unukk and Kasori shared another glance. Unukk's eyes clearly said _Don't do it_, but he was curious to see what she wanted to say to him that she wouldn't say in front of Unukk.

Kasori gave the princess a curt nod, and they walked farther into the mist, away from Unukk.

After a minute's progress, Li Wa halted and turned on her heel; her saccharine smile had shrunk to a more feral one.

"You know," she began conversationally, "I didn't believe it when Prince Unukk first introduced you as _Master_ Kasori. I thought: _How could a kid possibly be a Master?_ But seeing you in action tonight, I understand why. You are quite the prodigy."

"Excuse my rudeness, Princess," Kasori cut across her venomously, not caring to be sucked up to, "but get to the point."

"Very well," she replied smoothly, arching an eyebrow, "I am impressed with you and the other waterbenders…you in particular. You performed magnificently…for a young boy." The last part almost sounded like a calculated gibe.

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?" Kasori asked scoffingly, raising his own eyebrows.

"I don't give compliments," she answered quite seriously.

"Why am I not surprised?" he shot back.

"Because you are intelligent and perceptive."

"I'm still waiting for a point here, Princess."

"The _point_," the princess answered hotly, "is that while I do not give compliments, I _do_ give respect…and you have mine."

"I'm overjoyed," Kasori answered witheringly, "I wish I could say that the feeling was mutual."

"Perhaps in time," Li Wa mused, unfazed. "After all, as I told you last night, we are very much alike." She stalked off into the mist, leaving Kasori alone.

Was she right? Were they really alike? Was he similar to this woman who, with complete dispassion and total ruthlessness, struck down her enemies and didn't feel even the slightest amount of empathy for them?

Something about the way she operated disgusted him, but then he recalled just _who_ the people were that she had been remorselessly slaughtering: pirates, traitors, _murderers_ — people who, in any Fire Nation court of law, would have been sentenced to equally swift and unfeeling execution. Was it right to criticize the princess for merely executing the laws of her land as they were written?

Perhaps not…but she seemed to derive so much _joy_ from it. That was what disgusted him.

But could he criticize _that?_ It wasn't death that enthused her — the thought of the death of her men riled her immensely. It was the thought of dispensing justice that brought that predatory grin to her lips. It always had been.

And she had only threatened Unukk when he had scorned her arbitration of her nation's laws.

In that way…he supposed that they weren't unalike: He was the Avatar; he was devoted to upholding justice throughout the world. And he, too, had to operate with complete dispassion, not allowing his feelings or personal hang-ups to impede him. After all, wasn't that exactly what he had said to Malaava, the spirit healer? Had he not sacrificed his heart to his mind then, his devotion for his best friend to his devotion for the world he had been born to protect?

Feeling…for duty?

Was that not what Li Wa was doing?

So why did it disgust him so much? Was it because he was looking in a mirror, at a dirty reflection of himself?

No…somehow that wasn't right. Somehow, deep in both his mind and his heart, he knew that he was _not_ like the princess — in some fundamental and inescapably important way. But what _was _it…?

Kasori sighed. Either way, he knew that this would definitely not be the last time that he had to deal with Princess Li Wa, Crown Princess of the Fire Nation.


	11. Bk I, Ch 10, The Southern Water Tribe

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 10: **_**The Southern Water Tribe**_

Kasori, Unukk, and Henyara stepped off of the disembarkation ramp onto the ice pier, all three quietly savoring the frigid gusts of air that met them as they did; none of them had particularly enjoyed the warmer weather nearer to the Fire Nation.

The Southern Water Tribe Capital was not anywhere near as spectacular or enormous as its northern counterpart, but it had a quaint, almost mystical beauty. The buildings were actually fairly recent, since the capital had been moved a few centuries ago from the eastern Tailbone Bay to this harbor here, farther west.

Unlike the northern Capital, which was built on a slope, the land here was quite flat, so the buildings formed an irregular crenelation pattern across the perfectly blue sky; the palace, a spire-like structure at the farthest end of the city, rose into view, piercing the heavens rather majestically.

Of course, just like in the North, everything was made of ice and packed snow, which glittered beautifully in the autumnal sunlight — well, technically, here it was _vernal_ sunlight. It made little difference at the poles, though. Spring and autumn were virtually mirror images of each other, and it was summer and winter that mattered most.

After they had all filed down the ramp, the northerners were greeted by a group of southerners, who were waiting for them at the dock in their pale blue parkas. At the head of the group was Chief Magoda, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a smooth-shaven face and large, clear eyes. He had the look of an impeccably honest man.

Unlike in the North, where the ruling family wore special indigo sashes to signify their social status, Magoda wore an outfit identical to the prototypical southerner — except that it was a pale shade of purple rather than of blue.

"Prince Unukk!" the chief hailed the northerner with open arms, "We are overjoyed to see you again! It is a pleasant surprise that you have returned so soon!" Unukk had attended the equinoctial visit to the South the preceding year as well, which was unusual and, for most people, prohibited: It kept them away from the North, where they were needed, for too long.

But of course, Unukk was the prince: He could do virtually anything he wanted in the tribe.

He greeted the southern chief with the traditional generic salutation: a firm, friendly, mutual clasp of the left forearm.

"It's wonderful to be back in the South," Unukk said brightly; Kasori had noticed that he had been growing progressively cheerier and cheerier as they had approached the South Pole, and he suspected that he knew exactly why…

"I am afraid that I must return to some business with one of the admirals," Chief Magoda briefed him apologetically, "but I trust you will join us in the palace this evening for the ceremonial dinner?"

"Of course, Chief," Unukk replied, bowing graciously.

"Make yourselves at home in the meantime," Chief Magoda requested of all of them, beaming around the group before turning and departing through the crowd of southerners; the northerners stepped off the docks and onto the mainland, mingling amongst the Southern Tribespeople.

Kasori and Henyara followed Unukk, who was pushing his way determinedly through the throngs, head swiveling back and forth, as though looking for something…

_More like some_one, Kasori thought wryly as he and Henyara struggled to keep up with their friend.

Thankfully, before they were trampled by the crowd, Unukk found who he was looking for:

"Mekana!"

"Unukk!" Mekana was standing near the periphery of the crowd, careening on tiptoes in an attempt to see over the sea of heads; when she spotted Unukk, her eyes lit up, and she raced to him, launching herself into a flying hug. Unukk caught her and spun on the spot, with her in his arms, before letting her drop lightly to the snowy ground.

"I'm so glad you could make it," she told him breathlessly.

"I promised you I would," Unukk told her; Kasori had never seen such happiness in his eyes. Kasori noticed that Mekana was wearing in her hair the flower that Unukk had given her weeks ago: It was still as healthy as ever, its iridescent petals glowing mesmerizingly in the spring sunlight.

Henyara cleared her throat conspicuously, and Unukk started; he appeared to have forgotten that they were there.

"Oh, Mekana — did you ever meet…?" He trailed off unclearly, giving her a rough gesture in Kasori and Henyara's direction. Mekana looked at them and scrutinized them for a moment.

"I don't think so…" she muttered, staring somewhat lengthily at Henyara.

"These are my best friends," Unukk explained, "I told you about them…"

"Ah," Mekana said, "you must be Henyara and Kasori, then!"

"That's right," Kasori said graciously.

"Yep," Henyara affirmed more roughly.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Mekana said warmly, beaming at them. "Unukk's told me so much about you — and any friends of _C'iqe's_ are friends of mine." Henyara arched her eyebrow at the unfamiliar word, but Kasori let slip a small chuckle. Henyara looked at him.

"What?" she demanded to know. Kasori shook his head, trying to repress full-blown laughter.

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologized to Unukk and Mekana, the latter of whom was staring at him curiously, as though she hadn't the slightest clue in the world what had amused him, and the former of whom was subtly but swiftly turning red. "But _Ciqe?_ That's what you call him?"

"I actually like the name," Unukk mumbled, though his face was now as red as a ruby.

"What the heck is a _C'iqe_?" Henyara asked emphatically.

"It means _penguin_ in K'asweq," Kasori managed to say between the giggles he was fighting and failing to suppress. Henyara's face split into a broad, sly grin.

"Oh, now that is _too_ rich — almost too good to be true!" she said with a laugh, rounding on Unukk, hands on hips. If possible, the boy turned even redder.

"Aw, cut it out," he said halfheartedly.

"What's wrong with it?" Mekana asked, looking around at them with genuine confusion, "I think it's a wonderful name — penguins are so adorable and happy, and they cheer you up just by looking at them!"

"Yeah," Henyara allowed saucily, "but they're _penguins_…"

"If Mekana likes the name, I really don't care," Unukk assured her quietly, though his shifting eyes and scarlet cheeks perhaps belied that.

"Oh, I just remembered!" Mekana interjected suddenly, taking Unukk's hands in her own, "I want to introduce you to my father!"

"What?" Unukk yelped, the color vanishing so suddenly from his cheeks that it left an afterimage on Kasori's eyelids; he stared wide-eyed at his girlfriend, who was shaking her head at his nervousness.

"C'mon, I've told him all about you — he really wants to meet you! C'mon!" she repeated, pulling him off with surprising strength towards a street; Unukk gasped as though about to say something, but was cut off as she dragged him away. He looked back at Kasori and Henyara for help, but Kasori could do nothing but smile and shrug, and Henyara waved at him cheerily.

"Bye-bye, _C'iqe!_" she called to him, barely able to restrain her enthusiasm or repress the smirk that was threatening to encroach upon her lips. She turned to Kasori, grinning uncontrollably.

"You're never going to let him live that down, are you?" he asked her sadly.

"Nope!" she answered devilishly. On a more demure note, she added, "Since when do you speak K'asweq, anyway?"

"Remember that phase I went through when I was nine?"

"I remember you and Yak'ara jabbering away in Qulecke," Henyara retorted foully, "I still think she was making fun of my hair!"

"Just because you heard the word for _hair_ doesn't mean we were talking about _your_ hair! I've told you a million times — she was asking me if she thought _her_ hair looked pretty! She was really self-conscious back then…"

"Yeah, and you were the veritable nice guy of the North," Henyara replied with an absent sneer. _"Were"? That's low…_ "_Too_ nice, if you ask me…"

"I _didn't_ ask you."

"You never do."

"Shouldn't we be helping Unukk?" Kasori switched subjects, grinning at Henyara's sassiness.

"I suppose — let's go find _C'iqe_…"

* * *

"Princess!"

Li Wa opened her eyes, annoyed by the interruption of her meditations.

"What is it, Captain?" she growled from her position sitting perched on the most abaft part of the bowsprit, where she was perfectly balanced in lotus position.

"We're coming up on the pirate vessel."

"Yes, Captain, I am facing _forward_ — I can see the ship."

"O-Of course, Princess."

"Then I hope you have something else to tell me other than what is right in front of my eyes."

"Um…y-your orders, Your Highness…?"

Li Wa rolled her eyes and stood up with perfect poise, balancing easily on the bowsprit; she swiped her telescope from her belt and extended it towards the ship that was nearly dead ahead, perhaps two or three nautical miles away as the Fire Nation flagship, spearheading a squadron of a dozen vessels, raced directly towards it.

They had been tracking this particular ship and the squadron from which it had split all the way from the easternmost Fire Nation isles for the last week; with the collapse of Neruse's pirate empire, strays were scattering all across the ocean, and, sandwiched between the Northern Water Tribe's navy to the north and the Fire Navy (and the threat of encroaching on Southern Water Tribe waters) to the south, they had nowhere to go but east, in the hopes that they could find shelter in Earth Kingdom littorals.

_Not if I can help it_.

The men aboard this ship were scurrying across the upper deck, frantically readying their batteries as they prepared to make a desperate stand.

"Seems they've given up hope of outrunning us," Li Wa observed harshly. She took pause. "These aren't pirates," she muttered quietly after a moment's scrutiny.

"P-Princess?"

"They're not pirates," she repeated more loudly.

"H-How can you tell, Princess?"

_What a pathetic captain who can't tell a pirate from a privateer_. That's exactly what these men were: She could tell by the soft, almost bucolic look about them. They weren't hardened pirates — they were barely even sailors.

"I know," she replied simply.

"Then who are they, Princess? They're not flying any colors…"

"Obviously," she answered irascibly, "they belong to some other class of sailors who do not wish to be identified." She observed the ship for a minute more; by now, the Fire Navy flotilla was closing in, perhaps one and a half nautical miles remaining between them and the mysterious vessel.

"It's an Earth Kingdom design," Li Wa observed, scanning the ship's structure, "A southern carrack-style vessel adapted to pseudo-military service. A long-since-outmoded Southern Water Tribe archetype."

"Um…Princess? We are closing quite fast on the pir — I mean, unknown vessel. What are your orders?" the captain asked tentatively. Li Wa thought a moment and then stowed her telescope.

"Luff the sails and signal the flotilla to hold position," she ordered, keeping her eyes locked on the ship.

"P-Princess?"

"I'll handle this _myself_," she explained succinctly.

"Y-Yes, Your Highness…" The captain bowed out, and Li Wa stepped forward until she was perched directly at the tip of the bowsprit, her hair rippling in the ocean breeze.

_Priority one: disable the mainmast_. An old admiral had taught her that when she was only nine years old.

Maintaining her balance perfectly, Li Wa began moving her arms in wide, fluid, cyclical motions; her fingertips traced the wet air with arcs of blue-white electricity, the cold-blooded fire wreathing around her as she split yin from yang, feeling pressure building up between them as they struggled to rush back together against her will.

Exhaling calmly, and with practiced ease, Li Wa extended her hand, shifting one foot back for support; a powerful bolt of lightning sprang from the tips of her fingers, rending the sky as it lanced through the air towards the Earth Kingdom vessel, its effulgent white light reflected in the glassy ocean below.

The bolt struck the ship's mainmast a quarter of the way up from the deck; the thick, lacquered wood detonated with a massive, fiery shockwave, sending crewmen scattering and splinters of wood flying wildly about, peppering the ocean as they overshot the decks. The mast toppled and crashed into the water with an enormous splash, rigging snapping like tinder and small fires igniting all around the stump that remained intact.

Li Wa jumped off the bowsprit, launching herself into a perfect forward flip that put enough distance between her ship and herself so that when she fired jets of flame from the soles of her feet to propel herself rapidly forward through the air, she did not risk igniting her own vessel.

In a matter of seconds, she had closed the distance to the Earth Kingdom ship, slashing her arms before her to prelude her touchdown with arcs of fire that sent the crew scrambling backward. Her boots hit the deck rather softly, and she straightened to find herself staring at perhaps twenty or thirty men, all staring back with wide, terrified eyes.

They were all armed, but not one of them reached for a weapon. _Smart of them…_

"Who among you disgraces the title of _captain_?" Li Wa asked sharply; the men cringed, and one of them raised a hand.

"I'm the captain of this vessel."

Li Wa strode directly over to him and seized his collar in one hand, threatening him with a fire blade, hovering only a couple of inches from his temple, from the other.

"Who are you? What is the purpose of this vessel?" she snarled in his face.

"W-We're just a bunch of simple pirates!" the man stammered, already beginning to sweat, both from the intense heat of the flames and from the intense fear with which he was now visibly trembling.

"No, you're not," Li Wa countered hotly, "You fly no colors, but you have neither the diversity nor the gumption of pirates. You are _masquerading_ as pirates, which no sane person does unless under orders. So _why_ are you doing this, and under _whose_ orders?"

"I-I…uh…"

"You can either answer me now," Li Wa told him dangerously, "or you can lose your fingers one at a time until you _do!_" The man gulped.

"I-It was King Gaozhan! He gave us the orders!"

_Ah, yes — the king of Omashu. I might have guessed_.

"And why does Gaozhan want you running around raiding Fire Nation colonies and picking fights with our Navy? What does Omashu stand to gain?"

"I-I really don't know! He just wanted us to keep an eye out around your eastern isles!"

"That's specifically what he said?" Li Wa asked him harshly.

"Y-Yes — well, one of his Navy captains…"

_There's only one reason why he would want people poking around the eastern isles: There's nothing out there except…_

…_The Vault._

"And that's _all_ you were doing? Just 'keeping an eye out'?"

"Y-Yes! I swear!"

"I believe you."

Relief flooded the man's face.

"P-Please, Princess," he began to beg, "W-We're just a bunch of farmers and traders! Gaozhan impressed us into service! If he finds out that we told you — "

"Oh, don't worry, dear boy," Li Wa assured him with mock sympathy; she extinguished her fire blade, released his collar, and smoothed out his ruffled uniform. "I don't intend to tell Gaozhan a single thing about this conversation."

"Th-Thank you, Princess!" the man said breathlessly, a broad smile breaking across his lips; he could hardly believe his luck.

"Now," Li Wa continued crisply, "you said you were 'pirates,' yes?" She was sure to emphasize the phoniness of the word "pirate."

"Yes ma'am!"

Li Wa smiled wickedly.

"And do you know how the Fire Nation treats pirates?"

The smile vanished from the man's face…just in time to be replaced by an expression of shock, terror, and pain as Li Wa's fingers plunged into his gut, sending a bolt of lightning coursing through his entire body; his eyes dilated as the rivulets of energy arced over them, reflecting eerily in their glassy surfaces, which were devoid of the light of life in moments.

The captain's corpse dropped to the deck, convulsing as the last shocks worked their way out of him.

"As for the rest of you," Li Wa raised her voice, turning and striding casually to the portside rail in preparation to return to her own ship, "have a nice life!" She paused. "What few minutes are left of them…" she added in a fierce mutter; she vaulted the rail, firing jets of flame from her feet and launching herself into flight; as she departed, she swept her arms back and projected a river of fire from the outstretched palms of her hands, smothering the ship in a blazing inferno.

By the time she landed back on the bowsprit of her own vessel with the elegance of an eagle, stepped gracefully along its length, dropped lightly to the deck proper, and turned around to survey her handiwork, the Earth Kingdom carrack had been entirely consumed in the conflagration.

In a few seconds more, it was nothing but a short gash of burning debris on the surface of the water.

"P-Princess!" the captain raced up to her and gasped in surprise. "Wh-What happened? Why did you destroy the Earth Kingdom vessel? Who was piloting it?"

"There was no Earth Kingdom vessel," Li Wa told him, arching her eyebrows as though the mere suggestion of such a thing were preposterous.

"I-I don't understand — "

"There _was no Earth Kingdom vessel_," she repeated clearly and emphatically, "There was only a pirate ship, which we summarily engaged and destroyed, as per Fire Navy protocol."

"B-But you said — "

"They were _pirates_, Captain!" Li Wa growled meaningfully, "_Nothing…more!_"

Finally the daft man caught the drift:

"Y-Yes, Princess!"

"Spread the word to the other captains: pirate ship engaged and destroyed. Alter course to relink with Admiral Zutonishi. We have the rest of them to mop up."

"Right away, Princess!" The inept officer raced away.

* * *

Kasori and Henyara caught up with Unukk and Mekana as the young Southern Water Tribe girl led her boyfriend down the streets of the Capital, eventually coming to a tiny little house tucked away in a corner of one of the most obscure districts.

There was no door: Instead, a thick elk hide hung down across the entrance as a portière; Mekana plunged inside, dragging a still sputtering and protesting Unukk with her; Kasori and Henyara exchanged a glance before following suit, even though they weren't technically invited.

The house was a single room divided loosely into two parts by a step that elevated the rear half about a foot above the front half. At the rear wall, there were two platforms of packed snow covered in animal hides that served as beds; next to one was a lantern, and next to the other was a spear with a shark-tooth blade.

The front half was completely centered on the fire pit and accompanying hearth in the dead center of the floor. There were a few animal pelts hung on the walls, but other than that, there was little else in the abode.

Well, there was a man: Kasori could tell immediately that he was Mekana's father because they had exactly the same eyes — an extremely dark blue that bordered on black, like moonlit ocean water. He was sitting at the hearth, along with a young woman of unprepossessing but ineffably compassionate countenance who Kasori assumed was Mekana's mother.

The man rose as they entered; he had a wary look in his eyes, and Kasori saw Unukk gulp.

"Dad, this is Unukk — and his friends, Kasori and Henyara," Mekana introduced them happily; she didn't seem at all bothered by the nearly murderous look her father was giving her boyfriend. Kasori actually worried that the man might hit Unukk: He strode up to the young boy, who dropped his eyes respectfully and stood at attention, the Prince of the Northern Water Tribe fawning over a poor man from the Southern Water Tribe.

Then, all of a sudden, the man broke into a wide grin, seized Unukk by the shoulders, and shook him a little, laughing. For all the difference it made, though, he might as well have punched the boy: Unukk would have had exactly the same look on his face as he did now — complete shock.

"So _this_ is the young prince!" Mekana's father boomed; his voice was loud, rough, simple, and warm — like that of an honest man who had always had to work for everything in his life and who found such work honorable. "Mekana hasn't stopped chattering about you, boy — or should I call you _prince_?"

"I-I'm not really one for titles," Unukk managed to stammer, still utterly flabbergasted. Mekana was smirking at him, as though she had planned this whole awkward affair to mess with him.

"Yes, she told me that, too," her father chuckled, "and I _like _that. The name is Gotaru, boy — pleased to meet you!"

"I-It is my honor to meet you, Gotaru," Unukk stuttered, managing to scrape up the poise to execute a bow. Gotaru let out another booming laugh.

"No need for the ceremonial pish-posh here, m'boy! I'm just a simple hunter — we're a simple family." Kasori was surprised to see Unukk smile in relief.

"I like simple," he admitted sheepishly.

"Not very princely of you," Gotaru observed with mock sternness; Unukk didn't seem to perceive the joke: He hung his head.

"I know," he mumbled. Gotaru laughed again and clapped him so hard on the shoulder that his knee nearly gave out.

"That's a _good_ thing around here, m'boy!" Gotaru assured him. "Now," he continued, turning to Kasori and Henyara, "I believe you have some friends here…"

"My name is Kasori," Kasori said, bowing in spite of what Gotaru had said a moment ago, "It's my pleasure to meet you."

"And I'm Henyara!" Henyara added on, having absolutely no problem with the family's nonchalance: She merely gave a hearty wave. Gotaru laughed.

"I like you, Henyara!" he told her upfront. "This is my wife, Nolhera," he introduced to them all; Nolhera, who had been watching the entire exchange with the mild amusement of a spouse who had borne witness to her husband's eccentricities many times before, simply nodded to them, smiling warmly.

"Please, everyone, sit!" Gotaru invited, gesturing emphatically at the hearth, "Unukk! I want to hear all about you!"

"Not too fast, dad," Mekana cautioned him, smiling as she sat down with Unukk, Kasori and Henyara taking spots next to them, "_C'iqe_ is shy…" She leaned against Unukk's shoulder and pulled his ear.

Unukk did something Kasori had never seen him do: He grinned and blushed at the same time.

* * *

"Welcome, Princess," Admiral Zutonishi greeted her with a bow as Li Wa stepped onto the deck of his ship, "We have been eagerly awaiting you."

"It appears you have been busy," Li Wa observed: Zutonishi's fleet had completely surrounded four ships just like the one she had destroyed; the ships' crews had been summarily detained by firebenders, who had secured the decks and were standing watch over their prisoners. The sails were all luffed and the anchors deployed — everything was neatly packaged up and waiting for her.

"We got lucky, Princess," the admiral admitted, "The squadron attempted to lose us by going through some narrow straits, but they ran afoul of the rocks." Yes, she could see that: The ships' hulls showed definite signs of damage, but the vessels themselves were still seaworthy.

_For now._

"Then we will complete the job," Li Wa decided coldly, "Admiral, I am going to have a cup of tea in my cabin. When I return, I want nothing left of these vessels but burning scrap. Understood?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned smartly on her heel and made to return by the boarding ramp to her own flagship.

"Um…Princess?" Zutonishi piped up tentatively; she paused and looked back at him, raising one eyebrow. "The prisoners…?" She glanced at the "pirates," who, being close enough to overhear the conversation, were staring at her in terrified anticipation.

Princess Li Wa returned her gaze to the admiral.

"I do not take prisoners," she growled. "Dispose of them."

* * *

The Southern Water Tribe palace might not have looked like much on the outside, nor in any way emulated its northern cousin, but on the inside it was just about the nicest place Kasori had ever been — and that was the word for it: _nice_. There was a quaint, welcoming glow about everything — the ice and snow that formed the floors, walls, ceilings, stairs, and columns; the water that burbled and sparkled in simple but beautiful pools all over the place; the fire pots held in beautiful ice brackets that amazingly did not melt; and particularly the grand hall where the entire tribe had gathered together with its visitors from the North to partake of the traditional equinoctial celebratory meal.

Though most Water Tribe meals were held in circles around hearths, this affair was simply too lavish for that: There were rows of low tables made of splendidly carved ice, and rows of animal hides laid out to function as ground benches; and there were also fountains dispersed around them, diffusing a delectable mist throughout the chamber.

As if that were not marvelous enough, an enormous opening in the roof allowed a clear view of the star-studded heavens, and a perfectly framed moon shone down on them, filling the room with beams of cerulean light. (They would have to enjoy it while it lasted: Once the summer came, the night sky would not be seen again until autumn.)

Somehow, though, the hominess of the simple hearth was not lost in this majestic spectacle.

Running orthogonal to the rows of tables was a single additional one, lined with hides on only a single side, elevated on a small dais to look out over the others. There sat the most important members of the tribe, including the chief and his highest officers, as well as the senior waterbending Masters.

Kasori, being a Master himself, and Unukk, being the prince of the North, along with Mekana, being his girlfriend, had been invited to join the patricians. Unukk had somehow – miraculously, when Kasori thought about it – managed to convince Henyara to stomach a seat with the "common folk," so as not to tamper with the traditions — though the Southern Water Tribe didn't seem to care much one way or the other: People were walking back and forth between the two classes' tables, exchanging conversations, sampling foods, even just saying quick hellos. Even the chief had gotten up several times to go trade jokes with a few associates on the far side of the room.

Kasori had to admit: The South was much friendlier than the North.

But the North wasn't all bad: Its traditions of nobility and more rigid class structure gave it a certain fortitude and regality…but Kasori was glad that the sister tribe was of a humbler stock. They helped balance each other.

"So they've finally given you the sash, eh, Kas?" Master Recuto was saying as they ate. As in the North, southern Masters wore an indigo sash girding their waists to signify their mastery. "'Bout time — I told Nanuk that you were ready for it years ago."

"Frankly, Master Recuto, I'm not so certain it's all it's cracked up to be," Kasori answered. "Until recently, I kept forgetting I even had it." Recuto laughed.

"Yes, well — think of it this way, Kas: If you didn't have the sash, you wouldn't be up here, chatting with us!" He and a couple of the other Masters exchanged a hearty laugh over that, and Kasori couldn't help but smile: Their cheeriness was simply infectious.

That couldn't have explained the positively elated mood Unukk seemed to be in, though: He was still his usual quiet self, but he seemed to be glowing in his seat as he spoke with Chief Magoda, one of the latter's admirals, and, of course, Mekana.

The latter appeared simply enthralled to be seated up at the patricians' table, though her parents had elected to retain their seats on the lower tables despite being invited to join her. She, unlike Unukk, was quite chatty, diving headfirst into every conversation that arose, and she seemed to have forgotten any rules of propriety — if they existed down here.

They didn't seem to…and Kasori was fine with that. Stuffy northern dinners were fine, but they got repetitive pretty quickly…

Either way, Kasori had been noticing all day that the more time Unukk spent around Mekana – and her family – the more radiant he seemed to get. At the North Pole, Kasori had scarcely seen him smile in recent years; at the South Pole, he hadn't stopped smiling since they had first found Mekana on the docks.

Strangely, the iridescent flower that he had given her, which she still wore in her hair, seemed to be feeding off of his elation, as it was much brighter and more beautiful than it had been before; in turn, Unukk seemed to derive even greater joy from seeing its vivified appearance.

Kasori supposed that the spiritual energy with which the flower was charged was harmonizing with Unukk's own energy, and the two were reinforcing each other. It was fascinating…

"Kas, you okay?" Unukk's voice broke his reverie; his friend was staring at him with mild concern. "You've been staring at me for a while now. Anything wrong?"

"Huh? No!" Kasori replied, shaking his head to clear it; staring at the flower's radiant and ever-shifting colors had had him spellbound. "It was nothing." Unukk didn't seem to believe him, but he knew him well enough to leave him alone and return to his meal.

Kasori followed suit, though in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder whether Unukk would have been happier if he had been born in the Southern Water Tribe.

* * *

Captain Ji Chen Gren strode at a firm, brisk pace down the ornate halls of the palace of Omashu, green eyes locked sternly forward, ceremonial cape fluttering in his wake.

He passed several royal guards and clerics as he went, and they all started and bowed in deference as he marched by.

_As well they should_, Ji thought savagely: He was the youngest earthbender in King Gaozhan's personal Onyx Guard — an elite taskforce of warriors pulled from the most skilled detachments of his armies, trained to serve at his every whim; Gaozhan reserved them for very…_sensitive_ operations that were not precisely appropriate for the regular army.

It was an extremely high honor, and he had earned every single bit of it: Ji Chen Gren was the best earthbender in the southern provinces, and a soldier of incomparable skill and grit. He had fought long and hard for this position, ever since he had joined the army at age twelve (four years under the age limit, but he had been tall for his age, and the recruiters had bought his charade), and he intended to excel as he always had.

So when the king had personally requested his assistance with a "matter of utmost importance to the crown," Captain Ji Chen Gren had donned his official regalia and wasted no time in rushing to the throne room, at whose door he had just arrived.

Ji gave three loud raps on the immense door, and a booming, powerful voice called, "Enter!" from within. He opened the door and obliged.

The throne room was a large chamber with a vaulted ceiling, bisected by a green-and-gold carpet that ran from the door to the elevated earthen throne; everything was dimly lit with a smattering of torches that were purposefully arranged so that the throne was ensconced in shadow.

Sitting there was the figure of a man, on whose head was perched the ceremonial crown of the kingdom.

_King Gaozhan_…

His features were totally obscured by the shadows of the torchlight, and his eyes – which were sharp and lustrous black, like obsidian – were shining out of the darkness.

"Your Majesty," Ji said obsequiously, approaching the throne and genuflecting, crossing one arm across his chest while planting the other on the floor, "Your humble servant, Captain Ji Chen Gren, is yours to command."

"Captain Ji Chen Gren," King Gaozhan repeated in a slow, laudatory voice, rising from his throne and stepping into the light, "welcome!" Gaozhan was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a face that appeared to have been roughly hewn from the very stones that he bent: Every feature was rugged and harsh. His hair was a coarse brown like sand during a violent desert storm, and was not arranged in any special fashion, in stark contrast with most Earth Kingdom nobles.

"Rise, my loyal captain," King Gaozhan continued with a warmness that smacked of patronization, "I have a very important assignment for you."

"Your servant lives to serve," Ji replied somewhat tautologically, rising to his feet but keeping his head slightly bowed, not allowing himself to look directly above the level of his king's feet.

"I am short on time, so I will be brief," the king said quickly, "I have good reason to suspect that there are Fire Nation spies active in my city."

_Fire Nation spies?! _Boiling hatred rose up within Ji's gut.

His parents had been murdered by firebenders when he was only a small child. That had been what had pushed him to join the army in the first place — so he could fight those beasts who called themselves men.

"Tell me where they are, Your Majesty, and I will tear them limb from limb!" he assured the king viciously. Gaozhan smiled.

"All in good time, Captain, but for now, they are more useful where they are — with their limbs intact. You see, if I kill them now, the Fire Nation will simply send more, whose identities I do not know, and we will have to start all over."

"I see," Ji acknowledged, "You are truly wise, Your Majesty. How may your servant be of help?"

"There is one particular spy who _has_ outlived the usefulness of his current occupation, Captain."

"Say the word, Your Majesty, and he will die a most painful death."

"I am sure," the king replied smoothly, "but for now, this man is more valuable to me alive — there is information I could extract from him _before_ he suffers his painful death. You are doubtless aware of the prison on Huei Zhang Island."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I want you to arrest this spy – _quietly_ – and see to it personally that he is transported to the prison. Ensure that you cover all of your tracks. No one must know of his disappearance."

"I understand, Your Majesty."

"Then you are dismissed, Captain. Details will be sent to you later. I know you will serve me well."

"Your servant will not fail, Your Majesty," Captain Ji Chen Gren replied; he bowed, turned smartly on his heel, and strode briskly from the room, grinning to himself.

He had only joined the Onyx Guard a few months ago, but he had already made quite a name for himself in the king's book, and now he had just been given his first individual special assignment.

He would not fail: He would die first.

* * *

Chief Magoda had invited Kasori, Unukk, and Henyara on a walk across the tundra south of the Capital — well, he had invited Kasori and Unukk, and they had "invited" Henyara, as she had told the chief when she arrived. He had said that he had wanted to speak with them about something important, but so far, all he had done was occasionally point out the sunlight gleaming on the snow, or the way the wind stirred the ocean far in the distance; otherwise, he had remained utterly silent.

Kasori suspected that what he had to say was difficult: He had an uncomfortable, distrait look on his face as he made his sporadic small talk. Unukk seemed to have the same suspicion, as he kept trading glances with Kasori. Henyara was also picking up on it, and she was much less subtle, opting to wear a visibly impatient scowl as she brought up the rear of their little group.

Finally, Chief Magoda came to a fairly remote, windswept spot, paused, and sighed.

"I'm sure you're all three wondering why I brought you out here."

"Just a little," Henyara confirmed with dripping sarcasm.

"Yes…well, you must understand, this is not an easy topic to broach…"

"What is it, Chief Magoda?" Unukk asked gently. The chief remained quiet for a long moment; his honest face was genuinely discomfited. "Chief…?"

"I apologize, Prince Unukk," Magoda said, shaking his head sadly, "I hate the idea of thrusting you into the middle of this matter, but Chief Nattut simply refuses to listen to me."

"My father?" Unukk repeated, sounding surprised that Magoda had brought him up, "What do you mean?"

"It regards the recent shift in Water Tribe policy à propos of piracy in the northern seas."

"Yes?"

"Well, when Chief Nattut ordinated the Northern Water Tribe's alliance with the Fire Navy in response to pirate threats, perhaps he mentioned to you that he was going to approach us here in the South in order to discuss a similar arrangement?"

"Yes, he said something to that effect," Kasori confirmed.

"Well, he did more than discuss: He ordered. He gave the Southern Water Tribe a mandate, obliging us to coordinate naval efforts with the Fire Nation to counter piracy in the south seas, effective immediately — that was instated a few days before you arrived."

Unukk seemed to sense the problem that Chief Magoda was driving at: His face had reddened slightly, and a look of contrition had entered his innocent eyes.

"I…I'm sorry that he was so abrupt, Chief Magoda," he told the southerner carefully, "I sometimes think that my father acts before he has completely surveyed the…varying perspectives involved in his decisions."

"That was a mouthful," Henyara observed.

"I understand that I am putting you in an awkward position by criticizing your father in your presence," Magoda told him with equal contrition, "but you must also understand that I am bound to act in the best interests of my people."

"If I may be blunt, Chief," Kasori interjected, hoping to spare Unukk some of the obvious discomfort with which this conversation was lading him, "what exactly is the problem that the Southern Water Tribe has with the policy?"

"The policy itself? Nothing serious," Magoda assured Kasori, apparently not at all miffed by whatever tactlessness may have dwelt in his inquiry, "There is some resentment among the Southern Water Tribe regarding the Fire Nation's arguably over-aggressive colonization campaigns. Some of their southernmost colonies are dangerously close to Water Tribe territories, and our relations with those colonies are not exactly cordial.

"But the more serious problem is the fact that Chief Nattut did not even bother discussing the matter with us, did not even bother to consider that the piracy problem in the southern seas is much less severe than in the North, and that therefore we felt there was no need to risk Water Tribe lives in helping the Fire Nation to resolve a problem that was theirs alone and which they already had well in hand.

"Nattut completely overrode us — overrode _me_. And he didn't even come personally to do it! He merely sent an envoy! I just…" He trailed off in obvious frustration, took a deep breath to calm himself, and then continued much more dispassionately, though in a voice that was far icier than before: "Prince Unukk, I like you. You are a good kid, and frankly, your heart is far more commendable than your father's.

"That's why I hate to ask you something like this, but I must, for the good of my people, for the good of _our_ people, of _both_ tribes — please, speak with your father on this matter."

"I would love to," Unukk told him seriously, a tragic look in his eyes, "but I really don't know how much I can do. I barely managed to convince him to help the Fire Nation, and now you want me to tell him to pull back on the South? I don't think he's gonna like that, and besides, my father's very, _very_ traditional — he'll never go for the idea of yielding to the southern tribe…"

"Believe me, I know," Chief Magoda replied, turning and laying a hand on Unukk's shoulder, "I know that your father is quite convinced that the North's traditional dominance over the South is some kind of divine right, and that it is unfair to ask this of you. But the only reason I ask is because if something is not done soon to ease the tensions between our tribes…" He trailed off implicatively, and he appeared to be momentarily stifled by the thought of what might become of the tribes' disagreements.

Magoda sighed: "I fear that those tensions might soon erupt."

"You think we could have a civil war on our hands?" Unukk asked, horrified. Kasori recalled the discussion that he and Unukk had had back in the summer at the North Pole, when the latter had been describing Mekana's initial dislike for him: Kasori had asked Unukk the same question, and then, Unukk had been so sure that that was an exaggeration.

Now…

It wouldn't be the first civil war in Water Tribe history, but that did nothing to render the prospect more endearing.

"I don't know," Magoda answered uncertainly, "All I know is that my people are growing increasingly resentful of the North's elitism, and in the interest of peace, for the good of _all_ of us, I ask you to help me head off this threat before it is realized."

Unukk looked as though someone had slapped him in the face; his eyes were glassy and shimmering with whatever specters haunted his mind in silence — as though he could envision the ghosts of the war to come, and they were flickering across his eyes.

"I'll do whatever I can to prevent such a horrible thing from coming to pass — that I can promise you, Chief," Unukk said; his voice was querulous but at the same time resolute. Chief Magoda squeezed the boy's shoulder.

"That is all I ask, Unukk. Thank you — so long as there are good souls like you in the North, I know that we will have peace in the end."

"Someone's coming," Henyara interrupted; she was looking out over the tundra, back the way that they had come: A man, whom Kasori recognized as one of the chief's personal aides, was trudging his way hastily through the snow, heading directly towards them.

"That's my secretary, Hup'alo," Magoda told them, looking confused, "but what is he doing out here…?"

Hup'alo finally reached them, slumping over to catch his breath for a moment before holding out a scroll.

"Chief," he began gravely, "you're going to want to see this."


	12. Bk I, Ch 11, The Warlord of Omashu

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 11: **_**The Warlord of Omashu**_

"What is it?" Chief Magoda asked as he took the missive from Hup'alo and began to read it. Hup'alo took a few more breaths before responding:

"The secretary of the merchant fleet just handed that to me and urged me to bring it to you. It's a compilation of reports that all indicate the same thing…"

"Another trading vessel has gone missing," Magoda read slowly, eyes still scrutinizing the report in his hands, "North-by-northeast of Whaletail Island, off the coast. Just like the others. Something _must_ be done…"

"What's going on, Chief?" Kasori asked.

"For the last two months," the chief explained, "trading vessels passing through the narrow waterways off the southwestern Earth Kingdom coast have been mysteriously vanishing. There have been four disappearances, including this most recent one. This cannot be coincidence: Those are not rough waters. But we have no knowledge of any pirates operating out there, and besides, a Water Tribe vessel – even a merchant one – is more than capable of fending off pirates…"

Kasori thought a moment: _North-by-northeast of Whaletail Island…_ He pictured the area in his head, drawing up memories of all the maps he had studied over the years…

"Omashu's very near that area," he mentioned, "Maybe the king there knows something about what might be going on." Suddenly, Magoda scowled quite foully.

"Oh, I very much suspect that he does," the chief growled in a cold, venomous voice.

"Sounds like you know the guy," Henyara observed.

"Unfortunately, yes. _Gaozhan_ is his name: King Gaozhan of Omashu. A horrible, beast of a man — actually, just a beast. With Earth King Weizin distracted by all of the crime and strife plaguing the northern half of the continent, Gaozhan has been able to expand his sphere of influence across the south: He controls most of the territories south of the Si Wong Desert, minus what falls under the jurisdiction of King Küe Lü in Pei Huang, and he's recently been tightening his grip on the insular territories off the southern coasts."

"Does that include Whaletail Island?" Henyara asked. Chief Magoda shook his head.

"No, Whaletail Island belongs to the Air Nomads. Gaozhan is ambitious, but he wouldn't risk that — not yet, anyway: It would attract too much attention."

"I'm getting the feeling that you think Gaozhan has something to do with the disappearances," Kasori said.

"Yes, I do."

"Why?"

"Because Gaozhan has a bone to pick with the Southern Water Tribe," Magoda replied tersely. "It's a long story: You see, Gaozhan's father, a man by the name of Nong Wo, was the elder brother to Fu Wang Shin, son of the great King Lu Guo. Nong Wo was a prodigal ruffian of a prince, the sole disgrace to Lu Guo's otherwise spotless rule, while his younger brother Fu Wang Shin was a model young man.

"As Lu Guo grew older and older, approaching death, Nong Wo degenerated further and further. Eventually, he made a mistake that wasn't so minor: He got involved with an underground criminal group that pressured him into killing someone. Lu Guo had turned a blind eye to his son's profligacy for many, many years by dint of fatherly compassion, but this mistake he did not condone: The king revoked his firstborn's birthright and transferred it to Fu Wang Shin…and died only a few weeks later.

"Of course, Nong Wo was furious that he had been dethroned and disowned only weeks before his father's passing, and that his estranged brother Fu Wang Shin had assumed control of the kingdom. He vowed revenge but subsequently vanished. I believe he turned up dead from cirrhosis, in a gutter somewhere, alone and destitute. Somewhere along the line, he had a son — Gaozhan.

"Gaozhan was weaned on the poison of his father's many hatreds, and he grew up a bitter and merciless young man who eventually confronted his uncle, King Fu Wang Shin, in a rage. While nothing came of it at the time, immediately afterward, Gaozhan vanished for four years, at the end of which…King Fu Wang Shin wound up murdered.

"It was never conclusively proved, but most everyone suspected Gaozhan of the deed, and he, being the only living heir, became the _de jure_ king of Omashu. He immediately clamped down on the city with an iron grip, peremptorily crushing any dissent and buying up key officials to secure his reign. Initially he ruled through fear, but Gaozhan is no fool: He began to play the people, improving the city's infrastructure, cracking down on crime – at least, the facets that _he_ didn't control – and ameliorating the contemporary food shortage — by 'confiscating' supplies from local villages and such.

"Now, throughout all of this, the Southern Water Tribe was still engaged in an active trade relationship with the city, but after he had cemented the specious legitimacy of his rule, Gaozhan began expanding: He fought several small wars with the more powerful villages of the southern territories, radiating his sphere of influence outward from Omashu. Word began to spread of the atrocities he committed and of the vicious methods by which he was waging his conquests.

"When Gaozhan began his offensives on Gaoling and its subordinate villages, the Southern Water Tribe drew the line: We severed all mercantile ties to Omashu, embargoing all of its ports. Well, Gaozhan didn't like that — trade with the Water Tribe is a major source of wealth for _any_ port, and our total withdrawal left Gaozhan with a serious deficit in his income. It even hampered his war effort, and the campaigns against Gaoling are only just now winding down.

"The point is that Gaozhan has harbored deep resentment for the Water Tribe ever since then — that was only two years ago."

"And that's why you suspect he has something to do with the merchant ships' disappearances," Kasori completed. The more he heard about this Gaozhan guy, the less he liked him.

"Precisely. Gaozhan hates to lose…"

"Would he really go so far as to _attack_ Water Tribe vessels?" Unukk protested, looking shocked, "I mean, the Water Tribe Navy is the most powerful in the world, and even with all of his conquests, Gaozhan can't own too many ports — his naval forces can't be anywhere near powerful enough to fend off the kind of reprisal he's risking."

"Gaozhan is quite confident," Magoda snorted, "I am sure he is convinced that so long as he prevents us from acquiring solid _proof_ of his illicit activities, we will withhold our hand so as to not risk a war with the entire Earth Kingdom — which is precisely what _has_ stayed our maneuvers until now. But this has gone on long enough. I will go to Omashu immediately: I am going to have a chat with _His Majesty_."

"I'd like to go with you, Chief," Unukk said unhesitatingly.

"You do not need to do that, my dear boy," Magoda replied tenderly, looking touched by the thought, "This could very well be dangerous."

"This is a Water Tribe problem, and though we may live at opposite sides of the world, we are _one_ tribe," Unukk told him firmly, "It may not seem like it sometimes, but I promise you: The North supports its sister."

"Thank you, Prince Unukk," Magoda replied graciously.

"I'm coming, too," Kasori decided.

"Count me in," Henyara piped up.

"That is very valiant of you all," Magoda observed happily. He turned to his secretary. "Hup'alo, please assemble an official envoy and ready my frigate — we are headed to Omashu, posthaste. I want us all ready to leave in three hours."

"Yes, Chief!" Appearing alarmed by how little time he had to prepare, the secretary raced off into the snow.

"I still think that this could be dangerous," Magoda continued a bit more darkly now that Hup'alo had gone. "Are you _certain_ that you wish to accompany me?"

"We are _not_ missing this," Henyara assured him.

"We can handle ourselves, Chief," Kasori added.

"And I want to make sure that Gaozhan gets the picture," Unukk concluded with an uncharacteristically harsh tone, "If he wants to pick fights with one Water Tribe, then he'll have to pick fights with _both_ of us."

Magoda beamed at him.

"Perhaps there is hope for reconciliation between our two tribes yet," he said optimistically, clapping Unukk on the shoulder.

* * *

"Princess, there is an intelligence report for you." Li Wa opened her eyes, disgruntled at having once again been aroused unwantedly from her meditations.

"From whom?" she growled, not even bothering to look at Admiral Zutonishi, who had brought her the report.

"I…am not sure, Princess. The scroll is sealed and addressed for your eyes only."

"And you didn't open it?!" she snarled; it was protocol to open such missives – which were always encoded anyway – regardless of their instructions to the contrary, to check for hidden poisons that might be released from the ink or the paper. It wouldn't have been the first time in Fire Nation history that an enemy had assassinated a ruler by such stratagems.

"Of course I did, Princess!" the admiral assured her hastily, "What I mean is that the missive is encoded using a cipher I do not recognize." Li Wa stood and turned, snatching the scroll from the admiral's still outstretched hand.

Admiral Zutonishi was the CO of the entire Third Fleet — if _he_ did not recognize the cipher, then it could only be from one place…

"Thank you, Admiral," Li Wa said crisply, "I will take this in my cabin. You may go."

"Yes, Princess." He bowed out, looking glad to be dismissed. Li Wa turned on her heel and made her way from the foredeck where she had been meditating to the door to her personal cabin, on the upper level of an aft structure on her flagship. Once she had entered the cabin and sealed the door behind her, she crossed to the opposite side of the room, turned so that her back was against the wall, and opened the scroll.

Yes, she recognized this cipher — a cipher so secret that she had forced herself to commit the decryption key to memory rather than keep it in a hidden book as most intelligence officials did.

She read the missive, her eyes narrowing to dangerous amber slits as she progressed. When she finished it, she reread the message several times, memorizing its contents, and then stowed the scroll in her armor. She would log it in the archives at The Vault later. Meanwhile, it would not leave her sight — it would burn before _that_ happened.

The cryptogram had come from an agent in Omashu codenamed HAKURA (which was neither his real name nor the alias he used in the city) and was a response to the blanket command she had sent to all intelligence officers in that area for an immediate update on Gaozhan's activities.

HAKURA was one of her best agents, and he did not disappoint: According to the information he had collected, Gaozhan's activities in the southern Earth Kingdom had greatly intensified in the previous months. He was on the verge of totally assimilating Gaoling and its territories, which would give him complete control of the southern continent, below the Si Wong Desert and minus the fringes of the territories owned by Cao Zai, king of Taku, to the north, and Küe Lü, king of Pei Huang, to the east.

More importantly, he seemed to be gearing up for war with the Southern Water Tribe: Most of his recent efforts outside of the Gaoling campaign had been centered on seizing and fortifying the islands immediately off the coast; there were several large ones that, if properly armed with naval resources, would be excellent buffers against possible Water Tribe incursions; and more telling than that were his raids on Water Tribe vessels passing between the Earth Kingdom and the Southern Air Temple outlier territory of Whaletail Island.

Attacking Water Tribe vessels, particularly in so unforgiving a manner, leaving no trace of the captured ship, was a bold move, even for Gaozhan: The Water Tribe Navy was no joke, not even in the South, and the Water Tribe was not known for being lenient towards threats against its people. Throughout history, anyone who had ever attacked them had met with swift and harsh reprisal.

Li Wa admired that about them.

More to the point, Gaozhan's "secret" war in the southern Earth Kingdom was precisely that: a secret — at least insofar as the Earth King was concerned. He had been doing his best to ensure that Earth King Weizin remained occupied with the many problems he was experiencing up north. Weizin had long since deferred virtually total autonomy in the southern provinces to the kings of Omashu and Pei Huang, the largest and most powerful cities south of the desert.

But raiding Water Tribe ships wouldn't remain secret for very long — HAKURA's sources indicated that at least three or four vessels had been attacked thus far, and Li Wa estimated that it would only be a week or two at most before the Southern Water Tribe started taking serious action.

She was mildly surprised that it had taken them this long, but she supposed that Chief Magoda was much more permissive than Chief Nattut.

And when the Water Tribe _did_ take action, Gaozhan's smokescreen would, well, go up in smoke. Gaozhan was no fool: He had to know that; that meant that he was definitely plotting something. But what could this have to do with his investigations into The Vault?

_That _was the question. That would take some thinking — and some more digging…

But she had already pieced together all of this from the reports from other agents in Omashu, and from her own prior knowledge. The real treasure in HAKURA's cryptogram…was Huei Zhang: a small, remote islet northwest of Whaletail Island that housed a prison where Gaozhan had been incarcerating the most vocal dissenters to his sanguinary campaigns.

Intelligence indicated that the Water Tribesmen captured from the raids on merchant vessels were also being held there. Perhaps Gaozhan thought that if the Water Tribe got too uppity, he could use their lives as bargaining chips to buy time to further his plans before coming out into the open.

Huei Zhang Island provided an excellent solution: It was situated in a small pocket of unfrequented waters circumscribed by trade routes. Judging from HAKURA's report, the prison was well-armed and well-supplied, and could last indefinitely off of local resources. Most importantly, its position and nature as a high-security facility made the prison inconspicuous.

Perhaps she should put eyes on that place…

No…no, that wouldn't do just yet. The Fire Nation had no stake in the prisoners there, and while she was personally interested to know what would become of the Water Tribe prisoners, it was of no military value to her. More relevant was the knowledge of Gaozhan's growing aggression: It was only a matter of time before he made a move.

Once Gaoling fell – and Li Wa had no doubt that it would, and very soon – Gaozhan would really only have two choices: war with the Earth King proper for control of greater territory on the continent, or war with the Southern Water Tribe for control of their territories to the south.

Of course, there was always the possibility that he would attempt to declare war on the Fire Nation — but that would be foolish. His resources were not arrayed for such an attack, and more importantly, such a declaration against the Earth King's will would only prompt alienation: Gaozhan would end up having to fight two wars at the same time, and he simply didn't have the muscle for that.

Declaring war on the Southern Water Tribe was a simpler matter: They were quite isolated at the South Pole, so no one would be any the wiser…unless Gaozhan lost, in which case Chief Magoda would waste no time in alerting the Earth King to his treacheries. Of course, even if Gaozhan won, it was also only a matter of time before the Northern Water Tribe caught on, and _then_ there would be explaining to do…

No matter which course he elected to take, once Gaoling was under his control, Gaozhan would not be able to keep his maneuvers secret for very long.

War was looming on the horizon, and for now, Li Wa would play the waiting game.

* * *

Captain Ji Chen Gren grinned cockily to himself as he surveyed the small street; it was nearing sunset, and he was posing as a run-of-the-mill city guard holding vigil at the north end of the street, watching the orange blades of sunlight lance across the rough stones. It was an insignificant street in the lower levels of the city, in a district mostly habited by artisans.

_And one Fire Nation spy_, Ji added savagely to himself. The spy whom Gaozhan had tasked him to arrest went by the codename FURISHIMA, though the name he was using in the city – certainly an alias – was Pinling. He was posing as a meandering peddler of ceramics, who spent the day roaming the city seeking to sell his wares.

Of course, that was just a cover: In reality, he was likely linking up with several other Fire Nation spies from all corners of Omashu, swapping intelligence and such. Ji had spent the last week tailing him, gathering all of the information he could and making a note of every single person he interacted with; he would follow up on that later, or pass it off to the king to be handled by others.

It hadn't been easy: The Fire Nation trained the best spies in the world, and they were masters of countersurveillance. FURISHIMA was no exception, and it had been a strain on even Ji's incredible skills to stalk him for so long undetected.

But Ji was not accustomed to failure — he did not accept it. So he had done his job, and now it was time to finish things off. As a free agent, "Pinling" was no longer of any use whatsoever, and so he would be carted off to prison.

_More than he deserves — Fire Nation swine_, Ji thought viciously.

_Calm yourself, Captain!_ he scolded himself. _You have a job to do — and passion will only get in the way._

He calmed himself, and, just in time, spotted a man round the northern corner of the street, walking swiftly but unhurriedly towards a house midway down the western row.

It was FURISHIMA: He was a rather short, lean man with surprisingly thin brown hair and eyes of a dark gray. There was nothing at all extraordinary about him — which was the best possible cover that any spy could have: ordinariness.

Yet Ji could tell that he was a trained intelligence officer: It was subtle but unmistakable to the honed eye. The way he comported himself, the way he was constantly surveying his surroundings, his eyes innocuously but undeniably scanning every detail of his environment every few seconds before returning to a relaxed position, the way he walked with his arms held loosely at his sides, ready to spring into action — it all smacked of a professional in the business.

Spycraft was a delicate game, just as much a matter of fortune and fate as of skill and strategy. Much like warfare. And Ji was a master of warfare.

Tonight, the hapless FURISHIMA would meet his match.

The imposter entered his house, and almost immediately, Captain Ji Chen Gren followed, striding quickly and purposefully up to the wooden door.

He did not knock right away — that would arouse suspicion; instead, he leaned lightly against the wall, making like an ordinary guard awaiting the end of his shift, making sure that he was in the blind spot next to the window. The sun was setting behind the house, so he was not casting a shadow. As far as FURISHIMA was concerned, he was effectively invisible.

The street was empty: Most people were already home from their day's errands; the artisans tended to work past sundown, returning home well after the moon had risen, so the street would likely remain devoid of any life for a long while yet.

That was good: It wouldn't do for him to be seen.

Ji waited a couple more minutes before straightening and giving the door three solid raps.

"Who is it?" came a squirrely voice from within.

"City guard, sir," Ji replied innocently, though it took all of his willpower to keep himself from spitting at this piece of Fire Nation scum, "I'd like to ask you a few questions about a robbery that occurred a few blocks away."

Just as anticipated, the fool opened the door; as the latch clicked, Ji closed his eyes briefly, opening himself to the vibrations reverberating through the earth beneath his bare feet.

There was no one around for half a mile.

As "Pinling" appeared in the door, Ji moved, shoving him violently back inside, stepping in after him, and shutting the door.

* * *

Codename FURISHIMA stumbled backward, tripping and falling to the floor in a heap. The brief glimpse he had had of the guard had confirmed his suspicions: It was the man whom he had suspected of tailing him for the last week.

This was his only chance: As he fell, FURISHIMA reached into his pocket and furtively withdrew a Pai Sho tile, the emblem painted in bright red, and, as he unceremoniously hit the rough stone floor, let his arm fall to the side, where his hand would be obscured behind an island counter; he let the tile roll out of his hand, where it came to a stop in a shadowy corner.

"You are under arrest by order of King Gaozhan," the guard said wolfishly, "Resist and you will be summarily punished."

_Sounds like he _wants_ me to resist…_

"U-Under arrest?" FURISHIMA repeated in a perfectly feigned tone of shock, scrambling around so that he could face his attacker, whose face he had days since committed to memory. He was wearing the armor of an ordinary city guard, though FURISHIMA suspected that he was an Onyx. That was the only explanation for his surveillance abilities.

He was unsupported. _So this is a covert arrest — Gaozhan knows who I am and wants to keep it quiet…_

"For spying on the Earth Kingdom," the guard replied viciously, his eyes gleaming with undisguised hatred. "You will come quietly with me now, or there will be trouble."

_Not likely._ This man was undoubtedly under orders to take him alive: If Gaozhan had wanted him dead, he would have simply hired some mercenary to do it — or even a thief off the street. It was a standard intelligence ploy. Sending an _Onyx_ — that meant he was far more valuable alive.

"S-Spying?!" FURISHIMA repeated, seemingly aghast.

"Yes, spying," the guard repeated coldly, "Roll over onto your stomach, and interlock your hands behind your head, _now!_"

FURISHIMA obeyed; he was an intelligence officer – a _military_ intelligence officer, yes, but still just a simple spook – and this was an Onyx Guard: He would not stand a chance trying to fight his way out. Besides, that would only blow his cover, which, for all he knew, could still be useful.

The guard came up behind him, seized his hands, and pinioned them behind his back, securing them with rock braces before yanking him up onto his feet and escorting him roughly towards the door.

He did not notice the fallen Pai Sho tile.

FURISHIMA could not resist a small grin as the Onyx Guard ferreted him away.

* * *

Captain Ji Chen Gren breathed a silent sigh of relief when he and his prisoner finally arrived at the Port of Omashu. It had taken a whopping three days to secure anonymous transport to the Port, which was a naval base that King Gaozhan had established on the coast at the base of the Kolau Mountains, connected to the city of Omashu proper by way of a prodigiously well defended overland route.

But now that he was here, Ji could simply board a prearranged Earth Kingdom Navy vessel and sail away with his prize.

FURISHIMA was no longer handcuffed – that would be too conspicuous – but he seemed well aware of how futile an escape attempt would be: All Ji would have to do would be to call out for help from the many surrounding guards, declare FURISHIMA a thief, and they would take him down with ruthless efficiency. And that would only make the spy's ultimate fate on Huei Zhang Island even more painful: Ji would see to that _personally_.

As he was making his way with his cargo towards the designated ship, he spotted something that momentarily halted him dead in his tracks:

A Southern Water Tribe vessel was moored at the docks.

* * *

The moment the Onyx Guard paused, FURISHIMA followed his gaze, knowing that it had to have been something important if it had impeded him.

_A Water Tribe ship?_ he thought confusedly. _What is the Southern Water Tribe doing here?_

_Ah, of course!_ He had heard from the intelligence grapevine that Gaozhan had been raiding Southern Water Tribe vessels for a while now; no one in FURISHIMA's personal circle of comrades knew what had happened to the crews of the ships, which were summarily torched, cargo and all, but one officer had told him that they were carted off to a special prison.

_I guess I'll find out_, he thought ironically; a secret prison was exactly the kind of place where this Onyx Guard was likely to be taking him.

But if the Southern Water Tribe was _here_, in Omashu, a city that they had had under embargo for two years, it could only mean one thing: They were onto Gaozhan's underhanded ploys.

It would only be a matter of time now until tensions erupted between the two sovereignties.

_Maybe it's a good thing I'm not going to be in Omashu anymore_, FURISHIMA mused.

* * *

The Port of Omashu wasn't the prettiest place in the world, Kasori thought: It was bustling with all sorts of rushed and foul-tempered merchants who were scurrying around trying to maximize their profits, though giving little care to the people they bowled over in their haste. There were Omashu city guards all over the place, but they seemed to be doing nothing to rein in what amounted to "organized chaos" — in fact, some of them seemed to be running quick-cash ventures on the side. Kasori had enough experience with the shadier ports of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation to spot several illicit enterprises being conducted right before his eyes.

"Lovely place, isn't it?" Chief Magoda asked scornfully.

"Reminds me of Xing Fong," Henyara observed.

"Yeah, except the criminality here isn't forced — it's chosen," Kasori clarified. "Which only makes it all the more dangerous."

"Xing Fong?" repeated Magoda confusedly.

"It's a small port in the northern Earth Kingdom," Kasori explained.

"How do we get to Omashu from here?" Unukk interjected somewhat worriedly, surveying the busy docks from the deck of the chief's frigate, "The city has to be miles and miles away."

"They use a system similar to the railway in Ba Sing Se," Magoda answered, pointing to a fairly ostentatious gate at the northeastern edge of the port. "There's the checkpoint; we need to head there."

"We'll need to watch our step, too," Henyara added. They all agreed and set off, disembarking with an entourage of six other tribesmen who formed the chief's personal convoy. The crowd parted for them as they passed, peppering them with looks of shock and, in many cases, suspicion and scorn; Kasori recalled that this port hadn't seen Water Tribe faces in two years.

"We're making quite the entrance," Henyara muttered warily, surveying the throngs of wide-eyed Earth Kingdom citizens, plus the occasional Fire Nation merchant.

"Part of the plan," Chief Magoda assured her, though he seemed somewhat discomfited by the stares that they were receiving, "I _want_ Gaozhan to know that we are coming."

"We've certainly succeeded at _that_," Unukk observed nervously.

They reached the checkpoint, which was little more than a wall of solid stone flanked by pillars of green-and-gold-painted rocks topped with gargoyle-like statues. Four guards stood vigil at the wall, and as the Water Tribe envoy approached, they converged and blocked their passage.

"Name and business," one of them asked, though he was obviously surprised to see Water Tribesmen.

"Chief Magoda of the Southern Water Tribe," the chief answered coolly, "I request an audience with the king of Omashu." The guards looked at one another, unsure what to make of this most unexpected situation. After a moment, though, they parted and, using earthbending, opened up the stone wall, revealing several rows of railcars poised atop stone rails that ran off into the distance to the northeast.

"Please proceed to Car One," the guard continued, bowing awkwardly. Chief Magoda returned his gesture, and the Water Tribe convoy passed through the checkpoint. There were a dozen cars lined up, ready to depart for Omashu proper, and Car One was the farthest on the left.

When they reached it, another guard asked for their identification, visibly much more nervous than the ones outside the checkpoint had been. Magoda obliged him patiently, repeating his name twice when the guard couldn't believe his ears, and finally they were allowed to board the car.

It seemed that they were being given special treatment: No other passengers were allowed aboard, and the car was immediately dispatched along the rails by earthbending, en route to Omashu.

"That was easier than I was expecting," Unukk observed happily.

"Too easy," Henyara muttered darkly.

"I agree," Kasori said, "No one even asked us any questions. The Water Tribe hasn't been in this city for two years, it's still under embargo, and suddenly we show up out of the blue, asking to see the king, and no one inquires _anything?_ Something's not right…"

"Gaozhan is expecting us," Chief Magoda explained tersely. They all looked at him. "I am sure that Gaozhan would not have undertaken the risky business of raiding Water Tribe vessels if he had not prepared to be confronted by us sooner or later. He knew we would be coming, and he is ready. I'm sure he has a speech prepared, too."

Kasori couldn't help but worry: If Gaozhan was expecting them, who knew what he would do? If he was willing to attack Water Tribe vessels, then even if he was banking on the potential for full-scale war with the Earth Kingdom staying the Southern Water Tribe's hand in the matter, he didn't strike Kasori as the kind of fool who wouldn't have prepared for a fight anyway.

Besides, if his goal was to conquer the Southern Water Tribe, then what better first step than to capture – or kill – the chief? And here the chief was, coming right to him in the heart of his city! And Omashu was a fortress — if Gaozhan wanted to keep them there, he had every advantage.

Either way, the move was Gaozhan's: The Water Tribe convoy would have to be ready for anything.

* * *

"Princess! There is another message for you, and this one is marked _urgent_." This time, the admiral was not bothering her: She was merely running through some administrative paperwork, which she was only doing to pass the time.

Li Wa hated paperwork.

"Hand it over, Admiral," she ordered imperiously; the admiral obliged, and she summarily dismissed him. After all, it was none of his business what the missive said…

Being in her cabin already, Li Wa merely locked the door behind the admiral and returned to the far wall, turning her back to it as always and opening the scroll.

It was another message from codename HAKURA.

This time, however, it was not good news.

Li Wa read and reread the missive, her grip tightening angrily on the sides of the scroll with each iteration, before she stowed it hastily into her armor and strode rapidly out of her cabin and onto the deck.

She spotted Admiral Zutonishi nearby, conversing with the captain of the flagship; she waved away Urosato, who was almost always standing vigil outside the door to her cabin and who had attempted to follow her, and approached the admiral.

"Admiral," she said loudly, interjecting herself into his conversation; the captain bowed away, recognizing the look on his princess's face as one that signified that he was not needed in this conversation.

"Yes, Princeess — what is your command?" the admiral asked, bowing, obviously alarmed by the sudden intensity that was so disparate from her calmness only minutes before.

"Set course for Funsui, immediately. I have received word that there is a naval matter of utmost importance there that requires my supervision." That was a lie, of course. There was no naval matter at Funsui, though there was a fairly important naval base there.

But she would not be heading to the base. She was heading to The Vault.

"Right away, Princess." The admiral raced away to convey her order to the helmsman.

* * *

Gaozhan's tactic of facilitating their progress had not changed: Chief Magoda, Prince Unukk, and Master Kasori had all been granted permission for a special audience with His Majesty; Henyara had not liked the idea of staying behind, but she understood enough politics to know that pressing the matter would have been foolish, so she had agreed to remain with the rest of the envoy in a chamber that had been prepared especially for them in anticipation of their arrival.

Gaozhan had even cleared his schedule for them: Within minutes of arrival, they had been summoned to his throne room for their meeting. Kasori wondered if he was trying to keep them off-guard by rushing them through a process that normally took hours, if not days or weeks.

Whatever the reason, before they knew it, Magoda, Unukk, and Kasori found themselves outside the enormous doors to the Omashu throne room. Magoda knocked three times, and a booming voice resonated from within:

"Enter!"

They did so.

Kasori thought that this throne room was quite strange: There were no windows, and the only light came from a few specially arrayed torches that left most of the room ensconced in darkness, including the throne. The lushness of the green-and-gold carpet that carved a rectilinear path from the door to the dais on which the throne sat, and the beauty of the exquisitely carved stone of which the chamber was constructed, were totally lost in the gloom of the scant firelight.

King Gaozhan was almost totally obscured by the shadows, but Kasori, whose eyes were well-acquainted with darkness, was able to make out his features after a moment's scrutiny: He appeared to be a man made of weather-hewn stone, with rugged features, coarse, sandy hair, and stony black eyes that gleamed with a cold, feral light. If he hadn't moved upon their entry (shifting his head just slightly), he might have been mistaken for an eerie sculpture, contiguous with the lithic throne upon which he sat.

Gaozhan's appearance, together with the maw-like dim openness of his throne room, did not do much to create a welcoming ambiance.

Magoda, Unukk, and Kasori approached, with the latter on the chief's left, and the former on his right, pausing several paces from the throne and giving the king a respectful bow. (By technical comparison, it was unnecessary for the chief: He outranked Gaozhan.)

"Chief Magoda," Gaozhan said in his rumbling, earthy voice, spreading his arms wide in what Kasori supposed was meant to be a friendly, inviting gesture, "it has been so long since you have graced me with your presence! To what do I owe the honor?"

"If you don't mind, Your Majesty," Magoda replied stiffly, "I would much prefer to skip the pleasantries: There is a matter of great importance that I must discuss with you."

"Oh?" Gaozhan's force was affectedly concerned and surprised, but Kasori could see right through the façade: He knew exactly what the chief meant.

"Yes, King Gaozhan. For the last two months, Water Tribe merchant vessels have been vanishing off the coast south-by-southwest of the Port of Omashu, between the Earth Kingdom mainland and the shores of Whaletail Island," Magoda explained curtly. "Four vessels in total have disappeared without a trace, crew and all."

"How terrible!" Gaozhan exclaimed, and Kasori had to admit: His charade was excellent. But Kasori could still see through it: There was just the faintest glimmer of something too close to triumph in his stone-cold eyes.

"Indeed," Magoda concurred brusquely, obviously not buying Gaozhan's act either, "We have requested this audience with you so that we may inquire whether you know anything about these events."

"Why should I?" Gaozhan asked just a little bit too quickly, too defensively. He was pushing his act a little too far, and Kasori saw from the momentary self-admonishment that entered his eyes that he had realized his error, too. He mellowed somewhat. "After all, mine is quite a large kingdom, and I cannot be apprised of the goings-on of all ships in the area — "

"Really?" interrupted Magoda rather testily, "You cannot be apprised of the goings-on immediately off of your own coast? That seems…imprudent…"

Gaozhan's eyes hardened, and his façade of surprised concern vanished briefly.

"Do not patronize me, Chief Magoda," he warned in a dangerously soft voice.

"Of course not, mighty Gaozhan," Magoda replied in an affectedly obsequious voice, though Kasori could see a small ghost of a grin on his lips; he had accomplished exactly what he had intended: He had found a weak spot in the king's façade. "However, it seems odd that one so obviously well-provisioned as yourself should not know of the happenings skirting some of your most significant territories."

"I know nothing of your missing ships, Chief Magoda," Gaozhan replied; he had caught on to the Water Tribesman's stratagem and had mollified his tone.

"That is certainly troubling news, King Gaozhan," Magoda rejoined carefully. "Perhaps you have a pirate problem that you were unaware of?" Gaozhan was visibly miffed by the gibe, but he did not take the bait.

"I will certainly look into that matter, Chief Magoda. Thank you for bringing it to my attention." There was an obviously implied dismissal in his last remark. The three Water Tribesmen bowed and left.

"That could have gone better," Unukk muttered the moment that the humongous doors were shut behind them.

"Well, yes," Magoda said darkly, "but it _did_ go exactly as I had expected. I had _hoped_ for better, but…"

"He's definitely involved," Kasori said.

"But he didn't give us anything tangible to work with," Unukk pointed out.

"I _know_ it," Kasori assured him. He wished he had had the chance to pick through Gaozhan's mind with waterbending, but _that_ would certainly have been inappropriate… Kasori smirked briefly at the thought of how ridiculous that would probably have looked had he done it.

"I do too, Kas," Unukk replied sadly, "but we need some kind of evidence if we're going to proceed."

"I will not allow my people to be bullied like this — evidence or no evidence," Chief Magoda assured both of them.

"We won't let that happen either, Chief," Kasori promised. "And Unukk is right, too, we need some kind of proof. So…I've got an idea…"

* * *

"This matter is of grave importance, Colonel," Princess Li Wa said quietly to Lieutenant Colonel Hirodishi. The officer was sitting across the table from her, in a small command post deep within The Vault. The little building was well lit by a torch on the wall opposite the door and by the sunlight filtering in through the several windows.

Li Wa had sent her flagship back to the Capital, taking her own private corvette instead to the Funsui naval base, where it was now moored; she had delegated control of the Third Fleet back to Admiral Zutonishi, and he had returned to the open sea to continue the antipiracy campaign.

The moment he was gone, she had turned right around and taken a prearranged, unregistered ship to the nearby island of Shu Jing farther to the east. The island was completely ordinary…except for The Vault.

"I concur, Princess," Hirodishi replied thoughtfully. "FURISHIMA knows too much to be left in Gaozhan's hands."

"Yes, we _must_ get him back. HAKURA's missive indicates that he was most likely taken to the Huei Zhang Island prison facility, where the Water Tribe prisoners and dissenters to Gaozhan's regime are also known to be incarcerated."

"But is a rescue operation worth the risk?"

"Like you just said, Colonel — FURISHIMA knows too much to be left there."

"About the Fire Nation, yes, but about _The Vault_ — "

"He knows enough," Li Wa asserted, "He knows the name, and even that is too much intelligence for Gaozhan to have."

"But conducting a rescue operation on a prison about which we know exceedingly little will be almost indomitably risky…"

"_Almost_, Colonel, _almost_. That will have to do."

"But Princess," Lt. Col. Hirodishi protested, "HAKURA's missive gives us only marginal intelligence on the nature of the facility and its defenses. And besides, allocating resources to conduct the operation could take weeks — "

"Not for us, Colonel."

"The Crimson Raiders? But, if the objective is to keep knowledge of The Vault out of Gaozhan's hands, then deploying the Crimson Raiders — "

" — is counterintuitive to that objective, yes, I'm aware of that," Li Wa completed exasperatedly. "But they are the best operatives available, they can deploy in hours, and Gaozhan is still in the dark. We can wear disguises, and he would not be any the wiser should we be discovered."

"_We_, Princess?" Hirodishi repeated.

"Yes, _we_, Colonel — I intend to lead this mission myself."

"If I may, Princess," the lieutenant colonel began carefully, "that is injudiciously dangerous. If you are discovered, it will undoubtedly alert Gaozhan to the elite nature of the rescue force, which will merely serve to confirm his as-of-yet latent suspicions about The Vault."

"I'm aware of that, too," Li Wa assured him calmly, "but I do _not_ leave my people behind, Colonel. _Never_ forget that."

"Yes, Princess." Hirodishi knew when to shut up.

"It is imperative that we take action as swiftly as possible," Li Wa continued crisply, "Gaozhan has already had FURISHIMA in custody for five days. It will not be long before he begins enhanced torture methods to procure the information he wants — if he has not already. There is only so much a low-level intelligence officer can take before breaking."

"Agreed," Lt. Col. Hirodishi said reluctantly.

Of course, there _was_ a third option…

…she could kill Gaozhan.

That would likely remove the problem entirely, or at the very least buy them time to plan a better operation: With Gaozhan dead, Omashu would descend into chaos with the lack of a preset heir, the Gaoling campaign would falter and perhaps even reverse, and the prison would likely stall momentarily, without orders on how to conduct its affairs.

Of course, the prison's operations might be the one thing _un_affected by Gaozhan's death: It could be that he had established their orders as standing regardless of his cognizance or capacity to rescind them — though Gaozhan's arrogance made Li Wa think that that was unlikely.

And it would probably be easier, tactically, to assassinate the king than to break into his secret prison. After all, subtlety would be somewhat less imperative, and it was a move that he would not be expecting, whereas he had surely already tightened his defenses at Huei Zhang…

…but no. That wouldn't do. The political repercussions would be enormous. It would undoubtedly attract the attention of Earth King Weizin, and even if the Fire Nation managed to escape blame for the act, it would still alert the king to the political firestorm intensifying south of the desert, and that would certainly induce him to more closely monitor the peripheries of his continent.

That would not do: The Vault had plans that would only work if the Earth King's attention was occupied elsewhere. Gaozhan's role as a distraction to that end was much too valuable for now.

A knock came at the door.

"Enter," Li Wa barked, irritated at being interrupted in the midst of her thoughts.

It was Major Niroshita, the XO of The Vault. He held a scroll in his hand.

"Pardon the intrusion, Your Majesty," he apologized, "but this came for you moments ago." He passed her the scroll, which she summarily opened.

Li Wa smiled.

"Princess?" asked Lt. Col. Hirodishi, obviously surprised.

"The Southern Water Tribe is beginning to grow impatient with Gaozhan raiding their vessels," she said thoughtfully, "They dispatched an envoy to confront the good king about the matter, but he did not tell them anything. The Water Tribe isn't going to back down, though…"

"Do they know about the Huei Zhang prison?" the lieutenant colonel asked.

"Our intelligence does not suggest so, but if they don't, they will soon enough, I assure you, Colonel." She paused, still reading the coded missive; her smile broadened. "The envoy included Prince Unukk of the _Northern_ Water Tribe."

"The North is aware? That could be dangerous for Gaozhan — might provoke him to unpredictable action…"

"Yes, yes," Li Wa agreed absently; that was obviously not what had piqued her interest. "But if Prince Unukk is there…then so is Master Kasori." Lieutenant Colonel Hirodishi furrowed his brow, evidently reaching deep into his memory for the name.

"Kasori…the green-eyed waterbender upsetting the criminal empires in the northern Earth Kingdom?"

"That's the one. I met him weeks ago. If _he_ is aware of Gaozhan's actions, then it is only a matter of days before the Water Tribe has full knowledge of the prison, and you can bet that they will waste no time in liberating their incarcerated comrades."

"But…of what relevance is any of this to our operation?" Hirodishi asked.

"The Water Tribe's raid on the prison could provide the perfect smokescreen for our own…" Li Wa answered, almost to herself.

"That would be impossible to time!" Hirodishi protested, "We have no idea how, when, or even _if_ they are going to launch such an assault! There is no way we could coordinate our movements."

"Agreed," Li Wa said musingly, "but it is a fascinating prospect…one that we shall leave to fate."

It would certainly be convenient if the Water Tribe's rescue were to coincide with the Fire Nation's: If they were careful, they could keep Gaozhan guessing as to the Fire Nation's involvement by making it appear that FURISHIMA had simply escaped in the ruckus.

Yes, that would _definitely_ be convenient…but unlikely.

It was a longshot, but somehow, Li Wa was confident that she would be seeing the Water Tribe soon enough at Huei Zhang.

And Kasori would be with them.

Li Wa smiled to herself. _Now won't _that_ be interesting?_


	13. Bk I, Ch 12, The Sting

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 12: **_**The Sting**_

"So here's the plan," Kasori was explaining to Master Recuto, whom Chief Magoda had summoned to a private chamber in the Southern Water Tribe palace, "We take a typical merchant carrack and, instead of filling it with cargo, we fill it with warriors; then, we sail it through the same area where the other four ships have disappeared. If all goes according to plan, whoever's been attacking our vessels will show up, and we'll turn the tables on them."

"A sting? An interesting plan…" Master Recuto mused.

"It's not without risk," Kasori cautioned, "There's a good chance that our visit with King Gaozhan tipped him off, and he'll have pulled out whatever forces he's been using to raid us. It's also possible – though I don't believe it – that Gaozhan's not the one behind this, and either way, we have no idea what we're walking into. It could be one ship or several conducting the raids, and who knows with what support…"

"But it _is_ the only way we're going to get any answers," Recuto completed. "Count me in."

"I'm going too," Kasori said, "and so is Henyara."

"You bet your sash I am," she said saucily, "I had to sit out that meeting, but there's no way I'm missing this party."

"Me too," Unukk said.

"And me," Chief Magoda added.

Kasori shook his head: "No. I've been thinking about it ever since we left Omashu, and it's just too dangerous for either of you to come."

"These are _my people_, Kasori, I can't just — !" Magoda began, but Kasori headed him off.

"I understand your concern, Chief, but it's too risky. If something goes wrong, the Water Tribes cannot afford to lose either of you to Gaozhan. And besides, if any of these raiders spots you aboard, it might tip them off. What would the Prince of the North and the chief of the Southern Water Tribe be doing on a simple merchant ship? At least Master Recuto and I can blend in — we can hide our sashes and no one will be any the wiser."

"But, Kas — " Unukk tried to protest; Kasori shook his head again.

"No, Unukk — trust me on this: It's better if you both stay behind." Unukk stared at him, obviously uncomfortable with the idea of letting his friends sail into danger without him, but he gave Kasori a reluctant nod.

"Okay, Kas. Whatever you say."

"Very well," Chief Magoda said, also visibly upset, "We will go with this plan. Master Recuto, you will be in charge — see that everyone comes back safely."

"You can count on Master Kasori and me," Recuto replied. He turned to Kasori. "Let's get a crew together, shall we? No point wasting time." Kasori nodded.

* * *

"These are the finest ten firebenders in the Crimson Raiders' field units," Lt. Col. Hirodishi presented to Li Wa, gesturing sweepingly at the eight men and two women arranged in two rows of five in front of her, all locked in statuesque military posture, at attention, eyes forward and unmoving.

"Have they been briefed?" Li Wa asked the lieutenant colonel.

"No, Princess — I thought that you would want to do that."

"Very well. You may leave, Colonel."

"Yes, Princess." Hirodishi bowed, turned smartly on his heel, and left.

Li Wa began pacing slowly and deliberately in front of the ranks, examining the soldiers from head to toe.

They were outfitted not in the traditional Fire Nation armor of red and black, but in simple garments of iron-gray layered silk and leather that were actually made of Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe textiles — with not a shred of Fire Nation material. They were complete with facemasks and hoods that would obscure all but their eyes, which were covered with a special mesh (contiguous with the hood) that would obscure the color of their irises so that the distinctive amber of Fire Nation descent would not be too conspicuous.

Li Wa was wearing an identical suit, though for now her hood was lowered.

"I will be quick and to the point," Li Wa began loudly and clearly, in the hallmark fashion of a commanding officer on the eve of a dangerous mission, "You are assembled here because you are to be part of an operation of utmost importance and sensitivity, an operation that _I myself_ will be leading." That caught them by surprise, but, like good soldiers, not one of them showed it: They all remained stock-still.

"Here is the situation," Li Wa continued, still pacing around them, punctuating her words with her steps and pausing momentarily to allow tension to build between phrases, ensuring that it would all sink in, "One of our intelligence officers, a field operative detailed to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, has been discovered and captured. King Gaozhan has incarcerated him in a special prison on Huei Zhang Island, a remote islet northwest of Whaletail Island.

"We have little intelligence on the exact layout of this prison, but we know that it is being used by Gaozhan to secrete both his political detractors and prisoners captured from his raids on Southern Water Tribe vessels, conducted in the last two months. As such, we can assume that the facility is well-defended. In fact, this could very well be a suicide mission."

The soldiers did not flinch. _Good_, Li Wa thought. A soldier should not fear to go into the arms of death, particularly not if it was to save a comrade.

"Our objective is comparatively simple," the princess continued, "We _will_ recover our operative, codename FURISHIMA…no matter the cost. He has information that is vital to the integrity of the Fire Nation, and even more worrisome, he has information about _us_ — The Vault, the Crimson Raiders, you, _me_. That information _cannot_ fall into Gaozhan's hands. He has had FURISHIMA for at least five days now, and there is only so much torture that he will take before he breaks. We _must_ retrieve him before that happens.

"One final note: The Southern Water Tribe has strong suspicions about Gaozhan's involvement in the recent raids on their vessels. It is a distinct possibility that they will soon know about the Huei Zhang prison, if they do not already, and therefore, however slim the odds, it is _possible_ that our rescue operation will coincide with one of theirs.

"_Should_ this happen, your orders are as follows: You will _not_ engage them; you will not be detected by them in any way — seen, heard, or even _smelled_. You will give them absolutely no signal of your presence. With a stroke of luck, we _might_ even be able to pin the entire disruption on them.

"If not — our priority is FURISHIMA, not discretion. Our rules of engagement do not prohibit the use of firebending. The disguises we are wearing will suffice to obscure our identities as Crimson Raiders, and that is enough. Any other potential fallout is secondary. We will deal with it later.

"Failure is not an option here. And I know you will not fail. Why? Because you are the best of the best, the finest soldiers in the entire Fire Nation." That was extremely high praise coming from Princess Li Wa, and they all knew it; they all also knew better than to react: Instead, they remained perfectly still, not even moving their eyes, which remained riveted forward, totally blank.

The princess paused in her metronomic promenade, pivoting smartly on the toes of her boot so that she was facing the ranks. She surveyed them severely for a moment before finishing:

"We rendezvous at the harbor in three hours. Dismissed."

* * *

"Enter!" came King Gaozhan's voice through the immense throne room doors; Captain Ji Chen Gren opened them, entered, approached the throne, and bowed.

"Your servant has brought His Majesty word regarding the spy, FURISHIMA."

"Yes, I received your coded missive. He has been secured at Huei Zhang, then?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"And has he said anything yet?"

"No, Your Majesty. The swine refuses to breathe a word."

"What measures have been taken?"

"Standard psychological probing and minor physical punishment, Your Greatness."

"That will not be enough," Gaozhan muttered, half to himself, "Captain Ji Chen Gren, this man has information vital to the security of my kingdom. I _need_ that information. You _will_ get me that information…by whatever means necessary."

"Your servant will be thrilled to oblige," Ji assured him. _A chance to torture a firebender? _He'd _kill_ for that chance. _Kill a _firebender_, that is…_

"Then return to Huei Zhang immediately: You have work to do."

"As the great Gaozhan commands, Your Majesty."

* * *

The Vault, being a highly clandestine installation, had its own secret harbor in a very secluded cove on the southwestern side of the islet of Shu Jing. Since Li Wa had left her corvette at the Funsui naval base, she and her team of ten firebenders boarded a second corvette that had already been prepared for them, equipped with a minimal crew to reduce weight and retrench the number of people who were in the loop on the mission.

Precisely three hours after Li Wa had dismissed her troops, they all rendezvoused at the embarkation ramp to the corvette, which was already primed to weigh anchor. They wasted no time setting off, and it only took a few minutes for the corvette – designed more for speed than for combat – to leave the shore far behind, with nothing but open ocean spreading out before them.

Their destination was a small islet – not even named on the charts – north of the sector where Huei Zhang had been deduced to be; that islet would serve as a staging ground: There they would rest and rendezvous with codename HAKURA, to whom Li Wa had long since dispatched a secret message, ordering him to the RZ.

He would debrief them with the latest intelligence regarding the prison and the captured spy, and then they would proceed with the mission. Time was of the essence, so they would probably only spend a few hours on the islet at most — but of course, they would have to wait until nightfall before launching any sort of incursion, or else they would have no chance of surprising their foe.

"Princess," the helmsman called to her, jarring her eyes open from her tactical reveries, "we have a problem." She looked at him and saw him gesturing forward: There was a vast dark mass of clouds, flickering with lightning, on the southern horizon…and they were sailing straight for it.

_Wonderful!_ Li Wa snarled to herself. That storm would certainly slow them down a bit. It was too large to go around — they would lose less time simply charging through. This was a military ship — it was made for harsh treatment.

"Tether everything down and brace for rough seas!" she called to the captain.

"Aye, Princess!"

* * *

_So far, so good_, Kasori thought, surveying the clear blue waters; Water Tribe vessels were the fastest in the world, and the wind was on their side, so they were making excellent time: They had already entered the demarcated zone where the previous four ships had vanished. Now it was just a matter of cruising along the route they had followed to see if anyone took the bait.

The sky was cloudy; the strong wind and lack of sunlight left everyone aboard the carrack's deck comfortably cool. They were passing through a waterway that was speckled with large rock spires that struck Kasori as being too regular and evenly spaced to be natural formations: Perhaps they had been erected by earthbenders as a deterrent against pirates.

However the rocks had arrived, they had been there a long time: Though they mostly bore the angular, clearly chiseled features of bent earth, there were places where they showed obvious signs of erosion and discoloration from overlong exposure to the elements.

"This would be a perfect place for an ambush," Henyara observed, coming up beside him, blue eyes raking the waters.

"Exactly," Kasori muttered, "Now we just wait for the trap to be sprung."

"And spring one right back."

"Yep."

It sounded easy — in theory, it was. In practice…perhaps not so much.

Ambushes were a tricky business, as dependent on luck as on planning. The Water Tribe had planned as best they could, but they were running blind: They knew next to nothing about who these ambushers really were, and there was little more dangerous than walking blindly into an ambush, even _if_ one knew it was coming.

_Well, we knew that going in_, Kasori reminded himself. And besides, they had one advantage at least: surprise. The _last_ thing an ambusher ever expected was to have the tables turned on him. Flipping an ambush was an age-old tactic, tried and true, and it worked as well as it did _because_ it was so unexpected.

And they had another advantage: the ocean. They were waterbenders, and it seemed likely that whoever they were up against were earthbenders — which was also why it made sense for this rocky area to be the ambush site. But the waterbenders had a distinct advantage on the open ocean, particularly over earthbenders, who had only limited bendables available to them.

Yes, their odds were not insubstantial. But they weren't great either. They would have to proceed cautiously.

"I think," Master Recuto began, coming up behind them, "that I know you well enough, Kas, to hazard a guess that you have a plan for what to do _after_ we spring our little trap? After all, this ship is not big enough for too many prisoners — and we don't know how many people we're dealing with. Once we've turned the tables on our ambushers…what then?"

"Actually," Kasori said, giving the Master a sheepish smile, "I don't know."

"You _what?_" Henyara yelped, rounding on him, alarmed.

"That seems…uncharacteristic of you," Recuto replied more calmly, though there was no mistaking the surprise and concern in his voice.

"Not at all," Kasori countered smoothly, "Like you said, we don't know who we're dealing with — and until we know that, we can't know how to proceed after we've captured them. Empty speculation would be useless, a waste of time and energy. We'll just have to think on our feet."

"Yes, well," Recuto muttered, "I have heard that you are good at that…"

"Henyara's better," Kasori admitted. She punched his arm. "Hey!"

"I thought your mother taught you not to lie!" she snorted.

"Oh, come off it! You're much better at improvising than I am!"

"I'm good at _tactics_, not _strategy_ — you of all people ought to know the difference…"

"Unukk's the strategist, not me," Kasori pointed out.

"Yeah, well, thanks to you, he's not here," she shot back jocularly, giving him another, lighter punch in the arm, "so I guess you're gonna have to step up."

"Guess so…"

"Looks like you'll have your chance soon enough," Master Recuto warned quietly, pointing out beyond the prow of the vessel: Rounding the corner of a particularly large rock formation, part of a cluster, was a warship flying the Earth Kingdom flag, following an orthogonal course that would cut directly across their own.

Drawn by an inexplicable instinct, Kasori turned his eyes upward and examined the nearby rocks: _Ballista emplacements. Set up for crossfire_. Judging from the speed and direction of the Earth Kingdom ship, they would be halted dead center of a crescent of batteries that could tear their ship to pieces in seconds if they fired.

Henyara had followed his gaze: "So that's why the other ships didn't fight back."

"Even a normal accompaniment of waterbenders couldn't hold up against that kind of onslaught," Recuto murmured.

"We can," Kasori assured them in a soft voice, returning his eyes to the oncoming ship: It was close enough for him to see the details of the crewmen's faces, and they appeared ready for a fight; they were all fully armored and equipped with glaives typical of Earth Kingdom warriors. "But we'll have to wait until they've boarded the ship; otherwise, those ballistae'll just rip us apart."

"How do you know they won't fire on the boarding team, too?" Henyara asked darkly.

"Look at them," Kasori answered, though he did not gesture lest it be perceived by the earthbenders as a threat, "They're soldiers, not pirates. They're trained to work together, not throw each other to the wolves."

"Agreed," Master Recuto said under his breath, "Once the earthbenders are aboard, we will have to subdue them and neutralize those artillery pieces simultaneously — and fast, too."

"You handle the earthbenders," Kasori suggested, "I'll take care of the artillery."

"And I'll make sure their ship isn't a problem," Henyara added meaningfully.

Recuto nodded; the Earth Kingdom ship fully crossed their path, and the captains of both vessels brought them to a halt.

"This is a restricted waterway!" the earthbender captain called out in a loud, stern voice, "Luff your sails, drop anchor, and prepare to be boarded! If you resist, we will use force!"

"Showtime," Recuto muttered.

* * *

Codename HAKURA stared out at the sea from the deck of his little sloop: It was a terribly cloudy day, with a chilly wind raking the otherwise still waters. He wasn't much of a sailor, so he had no idea whether the skies were promising foul weather, or if this was merely a passing façade.

It didn't really matter, he supposed: He had to meet the princess and pass on the information he had gathered.

It was pure gold, as far as intelligence went: He had managed to bribe a seaman for access to a decommissioned prison ship's archives, and had come across maps and documents that had not yet been scrubbed from the vessel. It was a dream come true: charts of Huei Zhang Island, schematics for the prison and the locations of its inmates, readouts of its defensive structures — virtually anything he could have asked for. Well, except for what it looked like on the _in_side: There he was still somewhat in the dark.

But still…Princess Li Wa would give him a _medal_ for this…

Getting the Earth Kingdom back for abducting his comrade, FURISHIMA, would be enough, however: He happened to know FURISHIMA personally (not terribly common in the world of intelligence), and he did not like the idea of his friend being tortured by Gaozhan's thugs in some secret prison.

His stomach had been a hot knot of anger ever since he had learnt of FURISHIMA's capture — and the fact that they _had_ learnt of it was thanks only to FURISHIMA's quick thinking: Leaving that Pai Sho tile sitting on the floor of his former home as an alarm to his handler had been a stroke of genius (one he had actually had a while ago, such that his idea had been adopted by all Fire Nation operatives in the city as the go-to distress signal) and good fortune combined. It was lucky that Gaozhan had not sterilized the abode before the Fire Nation had gotten there, or they might never have learnt of the agent's arrest until it was much too late.

But that was in the past now: Intelligence required focusing on the present.

The moment he had received word of the event, HAKURA had begun snooping, digging up all he could on the matter. Nobody was talking, and that was never a good sign; still, he had managed to grease a few wheels, and one thing had led to another as it usually did in this job, and here he was, with a chest full of valuable intelligence to bring to his princess.

Dealing with the crew of the ship…that would be trickier: HAKURA'S persona in Omashu was that of a middle-level underworld matchmaker — somebody who could move resources around discreetly and efficiently. There was quite the market for that in criminal enterprises, so he had made many, many connections in the city in a short space of time, and connections were _everything_ in intelligence work.

That meant that the crew of his ship was composed of hired street urchins — the kind of people who would do anything for a bit of cold hard cash. That was often a good thing for spies…and also often a bad thing. Every man had his price for betrayal, so the saying went…

Either way, he had told them that he had to meet a smuggler on a remote islet west of the Earth Kingdom to secure a big, lucrative shipment of contraband through the Port of Omashu, and, being the avaricious simpletons that they were, they had bought it.

The trouble was that he would have to meet Li Wa in secret, and there was a possibility that they might become suspicious of his mysteriousness. If they did…he could be in a sticky situation. He certainly couldn't kill them — piloting this sloop required more than one pair of hands, and he couldn't afford to be stranded on this island he was headed to. And besides that, he was a spook, not a supersoldier. But he couldn't pay them off to hide his identity as a Fire Nation spy — that would go nowhere fast.

But…perhaps he was overreacting. These were just hired thugs, after all — they had no interest in political intrigue or the cloak-and-dagger affairs of spycraft. Then again, paranoia was often a valuable asset for intelligence officers.

Whatever — it didn't matter either way: What was most important _now_ was getting the information he had to Princess Li Wa.

Everything else would sort itself out later.

* * *

"Who is the captain of this vessel?" demanded the Earth Kingdom captain as his boarding party fanned out and took up a crescent formation on the deck, glaives held in a relaxed but ready stance.

"That would be me," Master Recuto replied calmly, stepping forward out of the crowd; meanwhile, while the earthbenders' attention was distracted, Kasori and Henyara were moving subtly to the left, eyes scanning the rocks around them, counting the ballistae.

_One…two…three…four…_

"I am afraid that you are trespassing in Earth Kingdom waters," the captain continued gruffly, "In view of your embargo, this area has been cordoned off to Southern Water Tribe vessels by order of King Gaozhan of Omashu."

"But this is a neutral, well-established trade route," Recuto protested, still in the same calm, conversational, mildly bemused tone, as though he were a simple merchant who was perplexed by this most unprecedented situation. "Water Tribe ships have been sailing this route for decades."

"Not anymore," the captain barked back, evidently miffed, "King Gaozhan has ordered that all Southern Water Tribe vessels in this sector be seized for trespassing. Surrender peacefully, and there will be no trouble."

_Ten…eleven…twelve…_

"Just a moment, Captain," Recuto protested peaceably, holding up his hands to indicate that he was not threatening them, "If I may, when was this order given? This is the first that I or any of my crewmen are hearing of it."

"The order was given two months ago! Since then, all Water Tribe ships in this area have been seized."

"So you have executed the order before?" Recuto asked. "Because we have received reports of ships disappearing in this sector. We thought that perhaps it was pirates." The captain looked surprised to hear that. _He genuinely thought that we knew about the ban_, Kasori thought, caught off guard that Gaozhan would have kept this man in the dark — but he supposed it made sense. It allowed plausible deniability, or at least some semblance of it.

He returned to counting: _Fifteen…sixteen…seventeen…_

_Seventeen._ That was it. He and Henyara exchanged a glance, and they both gave each other an infinitesimal nod; they parted, each moving inconspicuously in opposite directions through the Water Tribe crew, who shifted subtly to obscure their movements.

"You should have been alerted," the captain was saying; despite his evident confusion, the edge had not vanished from his voice. "We thought that the Southern Water Tribe was merely being stubborn — sending _four_ ships through here despite the warning. Now it seems that there was a miscommunication. Either way, I am afraid that I am still under orders to take you and your crew into custody and destroy your vessel."

"Just another moment, Captain," Recuto implored servilely, with the air of bowing to the heavy weight of local law, "I find something very strange here. May I ask: How long have you and your crew been at sea?"

The captain found that a strange question and narrowed his eyes a bit…but he answered nonetheless: "We've been at sea since the order was given — a little over two months now."

"And have you been in recent communication with King Gaozhan?"

"We receive monthly updates — the last one about two weeks ago," the captain replied, now visibly irritated, "but what is this about? Are you stalling? I assure you that I must take you into custody at some point or another!"

"Oh, yes, of course," Recuto conceded, "but as I said, there is something strange here, and now I understand what it is."

"Oh? What's that?" This captain was obviously at the end of his rope.

"We beat the messenger."

Recuto's highly terse answer caught the poor man off-guard; he blinked confusedly and hesitated several seconds before asking:

"Beg pardon?"

"We beat the messenger," Recuto repeated simply, now smiling the smile of a man who had just realized that he had the upper hand in a game of Pai Sho. "You see, the Southern Water Tribe dispatched an envoy to the city of Omashu a few days ago. Chief Magoda met with King Gaozhan…and the latter was most insistent that he knew absolutely nothing about our disappearing ships.

"Yet…here you are, telling us that it was by His Majesty's own personal _order_ that you have been _detaining_ the vessels in question and taking their crews into custody! Now you see what I meant by _strange_: Evidently, there has been more than one miscommunication."

The captain was speechless, stunned; Kasori couldn't tell whether he had been lying earlier and was mortified by the thought of his deception being brought to light, or whether he had truly been under the impression that Gaozhan had officially communicated his closure of this trade route to the Southern Water Tribe.

It didn't matter: He and Henyara were in position, he on the upper deck near the helmsman, and she near the prow, leaning casually against the rail, eyes settling furtively on the removable bridge the earthbenders had used to cross from their ship to the Water Tribe's after they had pulled alongside.

She glanced at him.

He gave her a subtle nod.

All that was left for Recuto to give the signal.

"Now, Captain, there is one thing left that I'd like to point out," the Master was saying.

"And what's that?" the captain asked; the edge had vanished from his voice, replaced by benumbed perplexity.

"Well, you see, and perhaps King Gaozhan neglected to mention this to you as well, but he does not have the legal authority to blockade this area against Water Tribe ships. According to _your nation's laws_, that authority belongs only to the Earth King himself." Recuto smiled sweetly and leaned a little closer to the man, folding his hands peremptorily behind his back; Kasori saw him extend three fingers on one hand. "Which mean, Captain, that _technically_…" Two fingers. "…you are in the process of committing an international crime…" One finger… "…and _I_ should be arresting _you!_"

With that remark, which left the captain totally stunned, eyes wide with mortification, Recuto let the final finger drop into a fist.

Immediately, Kasori moved: Planting his feet, he sank and then lifted his weight in a flowing motion as he brought his hands straight up, arms set wide; the waters all around the two ships abruptly piled up and launched themselves into the air in the form of a massive wall, crashing into the seventeen ballistae encircling them and washing them out into the ocean.

As the wall of water roared and fell back with an enormous splash into the sea, Henyara and Recuto made their moves simultaneously: She extended her hands out in a pushing gesture, and another, smaller wall of water arose from the depths, this one directly between the two ships, shattering the boarding ramp that connected them and deluging the earthbender crew that had remained aboard their vessel.

Recuto, for his part, stepped forward, extending his hands, too, until they were right in the Earth Kingdom captain's face, and then snapped back, sinking his weight onto his rear foot as he retracted his arms, drawing a wave of water up over the side of the ship and crashing it down atop the boarding party, freezing them, glaives and all, into a lattice of ice.

Only the captain was left, caught completely by surprise, frozen not by ice but by shock.

The Water Tribe crew swarmed forward, the nonbenders rushing up to the frozen earthbenders and sawing off the tips of their glaives with bone knives and hurling the blades into the ocean below; and the waterbenders, moving as one, sending a series of pressurized jets of water into the side of the Earth Kingdom ship, blasting its below-deck weapons to smithereens, while Henyara sent another wave onto the upper deck, sweeping away its own batteries.

"It would appear," Recuto said calmly as water sprayed all through the air and the earthbenders who had been knocked out into the sea called for help, "that the tables have turned."

"This…this is an act of war!" the captain stammered, still totally immobilized. Recuto drew up a small water whip with a single hand and wound it around the man's waste, freezing it into a girdle of ice that pinned his arms to his sides.

"No, my friend," he said coolly, "this is an act of self-defense. What Gaozhan ordered _you_ to do was an act of war. Consider yourself lucky to have been arrested prior to the willful commission of such an act."

"I…I…" the man bleated; Kasori actually pitied him: He seemed genuinely appalled that he had been unwittingly pressed into performing such perfidious deeds.

Henyara dredged up the stranded crewmen, washing them up onto their own ship in a wave and then freezing them to the wooden deck. Meanwhile, Kasori came down from the upper deck and walked up to Recuto's side; the captain turned his head to look at him and his wide eyes registered even further confusion, if that was possible.

"G-Green eyes…?" he mumbled dazedly, "You're the waterbender they keep talking about in the north! I've heard rumors about you…" Recuto and Kasori exchanged a glance; the former arched his eyebrows.

"Seems like a lot of people have been hearing things about me lately," Kasori replied carefully. _And it's starting to get on my nerves_, he withheld.

"I swear," the captain said, suddenly vigorous, "I-I didn't know that — "

"We know, Captain — it's fairly obvious from the state you're in," Recuto assured him soothingly. "Our quarrel is not with you. But if you feel so penitent, perhaps you can oblige us: What became of the crews of the ships you 'seized'?"

"We took them to Huei Zhang Island," the captain answered immediately.

Kasori and Recuto shared another glance.

"I've never heard of that island," Kasori said.

"It's a small islet west-by-northwest of here, past Whaletail Island. Unmarked on a lot of charts. All the prisoners were taken there after their ships were destroyed."

"Why? What good does it do to have them locked up?" Recuto demanded.

"I-I don't know," the captain answered, "That's just what we were ordered to do! King Gaozhan specifically commanded us to use nonlethal force and ensure that every single crewmember was locked away at Huei Zhang."

"Then we'll just have to break them out," Recuto mused, "After all, they're being held unlawfully."

"W-We can help!" the captain offered suddenly. "P-Please, let me make this right! I had no idea…no idea…" He trailed off, horrified, eyes glassing over.

"You _can_ help," Recuto told him, "You can start with the prison's defenses."

"Significant," the captain replied immediately, adopting the crisp, blunt tone of a military official giving a report to a superior officer, "There are shore-based onagers that can fire on ships that attempt a landing, backed with heavier catapults that can _preempt_ a landing, while the facility itself is fortified and stocked with earthbenders, so it would be nearly impregnable to naval assault. There are regularly spaced turrets armed with heavy _and_ light ballistae on earthen axles so that they can be rotated to fire with speed and accuracy on almost any position within sight.

"The walls are extremely thick, and the cell blocks are built into them, so you can't hit them hard, or you risk harming your own comrades. And there's only one way into the facility: the front gate, behind the catapult line. The walls are lined with archers, and the entire prison staff is comprised of Onyx Guards."

"Onyx Guards?" Kasori repeated.

"Yes. They're King Gaozhan's elite personal soldiers, the best earthbenders in the entire kingdom!"

"A direct assault would not work very well anyway…" Recuto mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We'll need a more subtle approach."

"I have an idea," Kasori told him. Recuto smiled.

"I thought you might."

"A word alone?"

"Of course." They walked away from the captain, across to the other side of the ship.

"Okay," Kasori began quietly, "this is going to sound crazy, but here it goes: Nobody but these sailors knows that the raid didn't go exactly as planned. Now, they're under orders to conduct all captives to the prison; we need to get _into_ the prison." Recuto looked at him, half surprised, half amused.

"You want us to _pretend_ to be caught?"

"The fastest way into that prison is in chains," Kasori reasoned.

"Yes, but it's getting _out_ of the chains that could be problematic."

"Otherwise we'll have to go _back_ to the South Pole and get reinforcements for a direct assault. We don't have time for that."

"Agreed, but does that justify the risk? We'll do no good if we end up locked in cells too."

"C'mon!" Kasori said slyly, "A couple of master waterbenders? On an _island?_ I'm sure we can handle it."

Recuto smiled: "By your leave then, _Master_ Kasori."

They returned to the captain.

"Captain, what's your name?" Kasori asked him; the man seemed to find that question strange, and it took him a few seconds to summon his own name from his mind:

"Bagu."

"Well, Captain Bagu, you're going to help us engineer a prison break. Let's start at the beginning: Tell us _everything_ you know about Huei Zhang Island, the prison, and the protocols you follow in bringing in new prisoners."

"A-Anything to help right my wrong…"

* * *

The storm had definitely slowed them down: Damage to the rigging had retarded their progress by a day at least, and the firebenders' boots were still waterlogged when they finally reached the rendezvous point. They moored the corvette on the northwestern side of the islet, where the shores were friendlier, and Li Wa took five of her soldiers ashore. The rest remained with the crew to continue repairs.

"HAKURA should have had a head start by now," Li Wa growled, surveying the abysmally bleak spit of land before her; the rocks rose up in a spiny, crescent-shaped ridge several yards in front of her, blocking view of their landing from the rest of the islet. "With any luck, he's already here."

"In fact I am, Princess," came a voice from the rocks; a man stepped out from behind a boulder. He was weatherworn and obviously tired, but he was wearing a broad smile.

Li Wa reciprocated the gesture.

"HAKURA," she greeted, approaching him and lowering her voice, signaling her firebenders to remain behind, "I trust you have good news."

"I have the mother of _all_ good news, Princess," the man replied excitedly, reaching back behind the boulder and hauling out a chest. "Right in here." He opened it, revealing a mass of scrolls.

"What's all this?"

"Maps, charts, schematics, documents, official communiqués — _everything_."

"All about Huei Zhang Prison?" Li Wa asked, pulling out one particularly large scroll, opening it to find a detailed layout of the prison's exterior walls.

"Every single bit."

"What are the highlights?"

"Outside going inward, here it is: There are no seaborne defenses — higher-ups thought it would be conspicuous. Instead, the prison is built as a pentagonal redoubt atop a solid elevation, surrounded on two sides by rocky shore and on another by workable shore defended by artillery. Their naval defenses are concentrated in the form of multiple wall-mounted batteries. They're marvels of engineering – you can see the schematics yourself – and allow the defenders to alternate between long-range and short-range, high penetration and low penetration, very rapidly.

"There are twenty such positions, three on special ramparts of each of the five walls, and one in fortified turrets at each vertex. Judging from the drawings, their fields of fire cover everything except for a dead zone approximately ten meters from the base of the wall; and their effective range firing out into the ocean could exceed three hundred meters.

"The walls are also reinforced with longbowmen who can switch to earthbending at close range. They have piles of boulders already prepared and strategically located for just such a purpose. The walls are at least thirty meters high and four feet thick. They seem to be partially hollow, and the schematics indicate that the cell blocks are contained _inside_ them. Moreover, the guards' quarters are located at the vertices of the five walls, directly beneath and with access to and from the turrets above, so if an alarm is sounded, the guards can respond rapidly to any point of contact.

"There's only one naval access point, and that's the single dock out front where they receive incoming prisoners, personnel, and matériel. That's the side defended by artillery, specifically onagers and catapults, entrenched, I would guess; and they have eyes on that place at all times. The prison has no dedicated naval support, and I would surmise from some shipping manifests that I found that the facility is virtually self-sustaining: They have enough resources stored on the island to last indefinitely in the event of a siege."

"So where's the weakness?" Li Wa asked, the wheels in her mind turning rapidly.

"The northwest wall," HAKURA answered immediately, "You see, Princess, the island is oblong in shape and slanted on a tilted east-west axis: The prison is situated on one end of the island, projected southeast into the sea, and the opposite side, the northwest, is totally clear. Halfway between the northwest shores and the prison, the topographical charts I found indicate a large ridge that would block line of sight between the two points. Moreover, there's a distance of a full kilometer between the northwestern shoreline and the prison's northwestern wall — more than enough distance for discretion.

"That's where the easy part ends, I'm afraid: The land immediately in front of the northwestern wall is in the field of fire of two turrets, plus the archers, but it _is_ densely forested, so you'll have cover. There's no entrance there – or anywhere else except at the dock – so you'll have to either circumvent the wall to a safer access point, or risk _scaling_ the wall and breaching more directly. Once you're on top of the wall, it's easy entrance through one of the turrets — though that _will_ lead you straight through an area heavily populated with guards.

"Unfortunately, that's where my goldmine runs dry: The internal structuring of the prison is a closely guarded secret, and the only thing I know is that each wall serves as a cell block, and there are five cell blocks. FURISHIMA was incarcerated so recently that I don't know which block he's in, but I do know that the Water Tribe prisoners are in Block B, immediately south of the dock entrance — so it makes sense to assume that he's _not_ there.

"The prison's human defenses are a bit less mysterious but even more dangerous: They're Onyx Guards, Your Majesty — members of Gaozhan's elite earthbending taskforce that he hand-picked out of the army and specially trained for unique jobs like this. They are surely _very_ dangerous."

Li Wa smiled wolfishly. She sealed up the chest of intelligence and hoisted it easily into her arms.

"Do not fear, HAKURA," she assured him in a deadly voice, "I and my soldiers are _very dangerous_ ourselves."

"Of course, Princess." HAKURA bowed. "If you will excuse me, Your Majesty, that's all the intel that I have, and I must get back to my, ah, _motley crew_ before they get suspicious."

"Are you sure that it is safe for you to return to Omashu?"

"Yes, Princess, I will be fine," HAKURA promised her, "I am quite good at my job, if I do say so myself, and my cover is watertight."

"Not airtight?" asked Li Wa archly.

"No such thing, Princess — but of course, you knew that."

"Yes, I did. Good work, HAKURA — you make your princess proud." HAKURA bowed again.

"I live to serve Her Highness." He turned and began picking his way back through the boulders, but suddenly paused.

"Oh, Princess," he said quietly, "I've just remembered: There is _one_ more thing…"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

I hope you guys are all enjoying the story so far. I usually don't post notes like this, but this chapter marks the beginning of the end of Book I: Lessons. There are five chapters after it, and they all flow in pretty quick succession, particularly 13 and 14, and 16 and 17, which are two-parters, with chapter 15 acting as a quick transition between them. Since posting on a weekly basis will kind of dilute the effect, starting _next Saturday_, I will begin posting semiweekly. That is, chapter 13 will be posted next Saturday as normal, but then chapter 14 will be posted that Wednesday, then the following Saturday, chapter 15, and so on until Book I is complete. Once Book I is over, I will return to a weekly posting schedule.

Please feel free to leave reviews, and if you like this story (and even if you don't), you should check out another whose author I've been collaborating with, bouncing ideas back and forth and whatnot: Ciloron's _Avatar: Tides of Chaos_. There are several similar patterns between our stories, and his takes place a few centuries before this one; it is a nicely suspenseful and mature take on the world of Avatar.


	14. Bk I, Ch 13, The Plan

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 13: **_**The Plan**_

The moon was a mere sliver of silver in the night sky tonight; clouds covered most of the stars, and the moon itself was obscured periodically as a wisp of cloud drifted across it. The dark ocean – a glassily smooth surface of clear midnight blue – glistened in the tenuous blue light.

Even in the gloom, Huei Zhang Prison was an imposing structure: a gargantuan pentagonal building of solid stone, crowned with five broad turrets at its vertices, scraping at the sky like the massive talon of an even more massive bird of prey.

What was eeriest about the place was the lack of light: Being a secret prison, the personnel staffing Huei Zhang kept it totally dark, with not even a single torch burning anywhere outside — not on the walls, not in the turrets, not even flanking the enormous steel gate.

Were it not for the occasional shadowy figure moving about in the night, the entire facility would have appeared abandoned.

The dock was utterly deserted as the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe ships floated slowly towards it, side-by-side. As they drew closer, Kasori could just discern the shapes – more like shifts in the density of the darkness – of the onagers and catapults defending the shoreline, and, a few seconds' sailing closer, the smaller shapes of men moving back and forth along the dock.

_Only a few minutes to show time_, Kasori thought. Only minutes before, most of the Water Tribe crew had gone below decks aboard their carrack, hiding in the cargo hold, while half of the Earth Kingdom crew piloted the vessel. The other half remained on their own ship with the rest of the Water Tribespersons, which included Kasori, Henyara, and Recuto.

They were all bound in shackles that enclosed their hands rigidly in thick cones of steel, preventing them from moving even a single finger. Captain Bagu had explained that the special shackles were used to prevent waterbenders from using their bending to resist. They didn't bind the feet because it was so unusual for waterbenders to use their feet for bending. Not smart, in Kasori's opinion — but an engagement this early wasn't part of the plan.

Henyara and Recuto had wanted the shackles to be sabotaged, so that they would appear to be locked, but not really be; that way, they and the other members of the small group of "prisoners" would be able to break free at any moment…but Kasori had insisted that they be real. They could not afford to send even the faintest signal of treachery to the Onyx Guards. He had also insisted that they not be carrying anything that might smack of a weapon, so his bone knife and ice sword were both stowed aboard the carrack.

But Kasori had a plan…he always did…

"I'm really not liking this plan of yours," Henyara whispered to him as they all stared straight forward into the gloom and the ships sailed closer and closer to the dock.

"When have you ever liked one of my plans?" Kasori retorted jocularly.

"Never," Henyara answered immediately, "With good reason."

"They've always worked, though…"

"Not that one you had about the orca out by Luqolo Island…" He looked at her.

"Henyara, we were _six!_" She looked back.

"Yeah? It was still a lousy idea."

"Okay, I'll give you that one…"

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" she asked more seriously. "I mean, this is a fortified, top-secret military prison!"

"Henyara…trust me."

That was all he had to say.

"Fine, Kas — but if I die out here, I am _so_ haunting you for the rest of your life."

_Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest…_

"Remember," Captain Bagu, who was standing to their side, whispered darkly to them, "once you're inside, your friends are in Cell Block _B_ — they should take you right to them, but just in case — "

"Yeah, we got it," Henyara hissed back.

The captain continued as if she had not interrupted him: "Once you're in, you'll have thirty minutes before we pull off our part of the plan and disable the artillery covering the ships. I'd suggest you release your comrades _before_ that happens."

"Understood," Kasori replied so that Henyara wouldn't bite the man's head off again. She still didn't trust him, and Kasori couldn't blame her — they didn't really have much reason to. But he felt that this man truly wanted to rectify the mistake that King Gaozhan had led him to make.

_We'll know one way or the other soon enough._

The ships finally reached the dock, the Earth Kingdom sailors pulling the Water Tribe carrack off to the side while their own vessel dropped anchor and deployed its gangplank to the pier.

Two men were waiting there: Onyx Guards.

_Here we go_, Kasori thought dryly as the Earth Kingdom soldiers, headed by Captain Bagu, escorted the chained waterbenders down the ramp.

* * *

"Well, well, what do you know?" Princess Li Wa muttered half to herself, peering intently through her telescope.

"What is it, Your Highness?" asked Sergeant Yurifuma, leader of the first of the two five-member squads that she had with her.

"The Southern Water Tribe is here," Li Wa answered him: Even in the weak moonlight, at this distance, her telescope was powerful enough to show her the clear ensign of a Water Tribe carrack.

She lowered her telescope and grinned.

_He's here_. Somehow, she had known that he would be.

_Well, well, Green Eyes — I guess we'll be seeing each other soon enough_.

"Helmsman," she called out quite calmly, not taking her eyes off the spot where just a moment ago her telescope had revealed the Water Tribe ship, "we're close enough. Yaw to starboard. Bring us to the northwestern side of the island."

"Aye, aye, Princess."

* * *

Kasori, Henyara, Recuto, and the other waterbenders trooped down the gangplank, flanked and headed by Captain Bagu and his men.

"Major Hao Chin," Bagu greeted one of the two men waiting for them on the pier, "good to see you again."

Major Hao Chin was a rugged, fierce-looking man with an impressive mustache that fell well past his chin; he was the warden of the Huei Zhang prison and the commanding officer on-site for all the Onyx Guards. Kasori supposed that his regalia were the official Onyx Guard vestments: armor identical in style to standard Earth Kingdom soldiers, but black interspersed with dark green, rather than green and gold, plus a thick black mantle that gave them the appearance of cultist warriors.

"What is the meaning of _that?_" the major demanded, pointing angrily out at the Water Tribe vessel now mooring about one hundred meters away, directly opposite the prison's southeasternmost wall.

_First test_, Kasori thought.

Captain Bagu didn't bat an eye: "This batch was a bit feistier than the others. They actually put up a fight. Our ship got damaged — " He swept his hand towards the hull of his vessel, where, indeed, the waterbenders' handiwork was still quite evident. " — and it was barely able to hold _us_. So we split our crew and brought both ships back — just for now."

"And these prisoners? This is the entire crew?" the major asked, eyeing the waterbenders suspiciously.

_Second test_.

"The rest were killed in the fight," Captain Bagu lied smoothly.

"King Gaozhan is _not_ going to like that, Captain!" Major Hao Chin snarled, "Your job was to bring them in _alive!_"

"They struck first, Major," Captain Bagu assured him.

"Yeah, well, _you_ can explain that to him! I assume that there's no trace left of the bodies?"

"None whatsoever."

"Good," Major Hao Chin grunted, "then you'd better get inside, Captain. We need that report filled out pronto. I'll send a crew to begin repairs on your ship, and we'll get these snow savages into the cells with their pals."

"And the Water Tribe ship, Major? We still have men aboard there."

"I'll send a squad to relieve them and demo the ship."

The captain nodded, and the two officers bowed to each other; then, they all, together with their Water Tribe "prisoners" trooped down the pier to the shore, where a detail of four more Onyx Guards awaited them.

The four joined their ranks, and together the six of them took up a diamond formation around the prisoners while Captain Bagu and his men seamlessly split from the group, walking a few paces to their side as they all headed to the gate.

Now that Kasori was right in front of it, it really was a massive structure: a six-inch-thick grating of solid steel, barring access to an archway that debouched onto a large courtyard. It was too dark for Kasori to see much else around the guards' armored shoulders, except that the archway wasn't entirely solid: Its two flanks were hollowed out into corridors that entered into the walls of the prison, and these halls glowed ever so faintly with distant torchlight.

As they neared the gate, Major Hao Chin broke from the group, walked directly up to the stone wall adjacent to the gate, and struck it with his fist.

There appeared to be no visible result, but then the gate began to open with a noisy, metallic clanging sound. From what Captain Bagu had told them, Kasori knew that he had used earthbending to transmit vibrations through the wall to the other side, where a gatekeeper had in turn opened the door.

The group trooped inside, and the gate immediately shut behind them; then the group split in two, with Captain Bagu and his men taking the right-hand hallway, and Major Hao Chin and _his _men leading the waterbenders down the left.

For the first few seconds, the hallway was nearly pitch-black, with neither the faint moonlight behind nor the lambent torchlight ahead providing much illumination, but they soon advanced far enough that Kasori could make out an exquisitely carved corridor that followed the length of the wall.

It was hardly the _width_ of the wall, though: This hallway was perhaps eight feet across, but the walls were many meters in thickness; according to Bagu, the hall would widen in a few moments to a cell block, where the wall was technically thinnest: only four feet on either side separating the cells from the courtyard interiorly and the coastline exteriorly.

Just as Kasori had the thought, the corridor opened into a much larger one, this one exceedingly well-lit with torches along the walls and a row of fire pots running down its center. Against both walls were prison cells, defined not by earthen slabs to be moved by bending, but by thick metal doors with barred slits for windows. Intercalated between some of the fire pots were sharply helical stairways that led up through trapdoors to levels above, where more cells would await. Bagu had told them that three such tiers existed in each block.

Major Hao Chin led the group a short ways into the chamber and halted; then he turned and began assigning guards to transport the prisoners to various cells: When he came to Henyara and Kasori, he turned to look at the guard immediately on Kasori's left.

"Sergeant Ru Fuang, take these two to B-306."

"Yes sir." The sergeant stepped behind them, grabbed their shoulders, and pushed them roughly forward towards one of the staircases.

_B-306_, Kasori repeated in his mind. That meant the third floor, sixth cell, which would be on the left-hand wall, since there were ten cells per wall, with the first ten on the exterior and the latter ten on the interior.

They ascended the staircase, Kasori and Henyara's arms chaffing against each other due to the narrowness of the steps; they passed through the trapdoor and immediately mounted a second stairwell, which was staggered only a couple feet away. When they reached the third floor, Ru Fuang pushed them off to the side and forced them up against the wall.

"Don't move!" he growled, leaving them against the wall and reaching for a set of keys on his belt, which he used to open cell B-306; swinging the door open, he seized them anew and flung them inside, following after and locking the door behind him.

The cell was tiny – perhaps ten feet by six feet – and made totally of metal: floor, ceiling, and walls. There were no windows, and the only feature of the room was the lines of metal rings against the rear wall, mirrored by rings on the floor; both sets of rings had steel shackles linked to them.

Ru Fuang shoved Kasori against the left-hand wall.

"Stay there!" he ordered him, taking Henyara and pushing her against the rear wall.

"Metal cell," Kasori observed loudly, momentarily catching the guard's attention. "That's interesting — you must have some earthbender prisoners, am I right? Otherwise you'd just use earth — it'd be easier, not to mention _cheaper_."

"Shut up, kid," Ru Fuang growled at him; he returned to his work, placing Henyara's back against the wall and linking the shackles hanging from the rings there to the fetters that already bound her hands, effectively tethering her to the wall.

"And insulated," Kasori continued, looking around the sealed space, "You keep it as cold as possible…maybe a first line of defense against firebenders? You have firebenders here?"

"Shut up!" the sergeant repeated a bit more forcefully, shackling Henyara's feet to the floor. He straightened up and approached Kasori, taking him roughly by the shoulder and pushing him against the rear wall next to his friend. Ru Fuang locked his hands to the wall as well and then proceeded to do the same with his feet.

"And of course," Kasori continued almost amusedly, completely ignoring the guard's order, "it's easy with waterbenders, isn't it? Just lock 'em up away from the ocean outside and bind up their hands and feet before you give them anything to drink, and they're helpless!"

Ru Fuang locked the shackles angrily, stood up, and glared in Kasori's face.

"That's right, kid! _Helpless!_" he growled triumphantly before turning and making to leave.

"Wrong," Kasori contradicted him in a strong, level voice. The guard halted, surprised.

Even in this dark and dreary metal cell, sequestered from the open ocean, Kasori could sense water all around him, permeating the air, coating the chains with which he was bound, flowering from every exhalation, coursing through each vein in all three of their bodies…

"What are you talking about, snow savage?"

"You're wrong," Kasori repeated quietly, "Guilty of a little hasty transference."

"What do you mean?" Sgt. Ru Fuang snapped, obviously miffed by this kid's jeers.

"I mean that you guys are _earth_benders. You're completely dependent on ambient earth. If we locked you in a wooden box and chucked you out into the ocean, you'd be virtually helpless!"

Kasori could _feel_ the man's blood run hotter from that gibe; he could _feel_ the blood's path as it pulsed through his body with each beat of his heart, could _feel_ the ripples in the interstitial fluids as the man's muscles contracted, turning him around to face this snow savage who dared to insult him.

"And you think," Kasori continued, "that just because waterbenders also depend on ambient water, that we're just as vulnerable as you are: Lock us up away from the water, and we're powerless."

"Yeah — you just admitted that, you stupid little runt!" the guard snarled at him, now visibly angry.

"Wrong," Kasori said again, now smiling. By now, he could feel every droplet of water permeating every single cell in this man's body, could feel each of them reverberating with energy — almost like they were singing; and now their song was changing, changing to match the tune of his will…

It was euphoric, almost intoxicating, overwhelming, feeling so connected with his native element — but he had to control himself…the kind of power he was preparing to unleash was dangerous…

"Very wrong," Kasori continued quite calmly, to Ru Fuang's irritation, "You see, it's _impossible_ to divorce a waterbender from water."

"Look around you, kid," the Onyx Guard growled tauntingly, "There is _no_ water in here!"

"That's precisely where you're wrong," Kasori countered, "There's quite a lot of water in here. You can never separate a waterbender from his element, because wherever there's water, there's life, and wherever there's life…there's water."

By this point, Henyara had long since caught his drift, and was glancing back and forth between him and Ru Fuang, keeping totally silent, her face inscrutable. Ru Fuang, on the other hand, had not yet perceived the very grave threat looming in the air…in his very body.

"What are you _babbling_ about, snow savage?" he demanded scathingly.

Kasori laughed a little, and that certainly shook the man up.

"Wherever there is _life_, there is _water!_" he repeated emphatically; the guard still looked confused, so he explained in calm detail: "You see, my friend, in any living being, there is a substantial amount of water, and a true waterbender doesn't care whether water is flowing in a river or sitting in an ocean…or coursing through someone's veins."

Finally Ru Fuang seemed to understand: His eyes went wide, and his hand shifted towards a dagger at his belt.

"A true waterbender," Kasori continued, now in a deathly quiet voice, "can bend water _wherever_ it is."

Ru Fuang drew his weapon, but it was already much too late: Every droplet of water that pervaded his entire body was already under Kasori's control.

With a mere thought, a "push" from his mind, Kasori forced the man's hand to open, causing his weapon to drop to the floor with a clatter.

Ru Fuang's eyes went even wider, and before he could make a single move, he collapsed to the ground, groaning and clutching at his head, his movements suddenly sluggish and clumsy, his eyes blinking rapidly as he fought to remain conscious.

"Wh-What the…?" he slurred. "Wh-What — ?"

" — am I doing to you?" Kasori completed the question coolly, "It's amazing how fast the body can fall into syncope, isn't it? Your blood vessels dilate just a bit, and all of a sudden you can barely stand up, barely keep your eyes focused, barely hear anything at all."

"H-How…?"

" — am I doing this?" Kasori completed again, "Well, it's simple, really: Bending is fundamentally a psychic phenomenon, not a physical one. And your blood vessels contain and are totally surrounded by water. It's a meager task of decreasing the pressure, and all of a sudden you're on the verge of passing out. Now if you'll excuse me a moment, I need to concentrate."

In a sudden and rather uncouth turn, Kasori spat onto the ground in front of him.

"Gross," Henyara remarked, "I thought I was supposed to be the gross one."

"You're welcome to try this, if you like," Kasori said distractedly as he focused on the little glob of saliva; it twitched and then rose into the air, swirling in a gentle circle.

"Nah, I'll let you handle that," Henyara decided.

Kasori exhaled calmly, closing his eyes and feeling the water. It was challenging to keep his hold on Ru Fuang and bend the saliva at the same time, but he managed; he had been practicing psychic bending for over a year, and the task he had to perform really wasn't complicated.

The swirling glob flowed smoothly through the air, settling into the lock of the shackles binding his hands. He could feel it as it slid across the tumblers; he relaxed his grip a bit, allowing it to flow out and mold into the shape of the lock, and then he froze it into a makeshift key, giving it a mental turn.

With a satisfying _click_, the shackles unlocked, and Kasori swept them off of his hands easily, letting them hang from the wall by the chain that was still connected to them.

Ru Fuang stared wide-eyed as Kasori drew a small water whip from the air and repeated the procedure on the fetters binding his feet; once he was free, he turned to Henyara to liberate her.

"'Bout time," she said, rubbing her wrists once she was released from her shackles, "I thought you were gonna chat with soldier boy here all night." Kasori smiled, his cheeks burning just a bit.

"Yeah…guess I got caught up in the theatrics."

"No kidding," Henyara drawled, "Just in case you forget again, that's _my_ job, 'kay?"

"Indulge me once more," Kasori asked of her; she looked at him quizzically and shrugged, as if to say, _What the heck?_

Kasori turned to Sergeant Ru Fuang and lifted a single hand, releasing his grip on the man's blood vessels and allowing the pressure in them to return to normal before levitating him into the air and then slamming him with a single gesture into the wall.

"There's something I want you to understand, Sergeant," Kasori said quickly and quietly, approaching the man, who was utterly pinned against the metal, floating a few inches off the ground; Henyara moved to the door, peering out the barred slit to ensure that no one had noticed the ruckus.

"And what's that?" Ru Fuang snarled in an attempt at bravado, although Kasori could quite literally feel the racing beat of his heart, and there was obvious fear in his eyes. Kasori was quite sure that he had never experienced anything like this before, and he was even surer that his training, even as an Onyx Guard, had done nothing to prepare him for it.

"You call us _snow savages_," Kasori answered in a soft, sad voice, "but do you really think us savages?"

"C'mon, Kas, we gotta hurry," Henyara urged him in low growl.

Kasori ignored her for the moment.

"You attack innocent people," he continued, "You lock them up in cages for nothing. They haven't committed any crime, haven't threatened you in any way, and yet one word from your sanguineous king, and suddenly you're all inclined to treat them like animals."

The guard had no response, so Kasori kept going:

"I just want you to think about what I could do to you right now: I have total control over every drop of water in your body. I could literally _boil_ you from the inside out, or _freeze_ your organs one by one and detonate them inside you, turn your gut into a _shrapnel bomb_. I could _shred_ your nerves one by one until you die from shock. I'm a healer — I know all about the human body and its vulnerabilities. There are all sorts of ghastly things I could do to you…"

By this point Ru Fuang was sweating; his pupils were dilated in sheer terror. Kasori shook his head sadly.

"…and from the look on your face, you think I'd actually do it! But there you're wrong again. I wouldn't, and I won't. I'm not going to harm you at all." He lifted his hand again. "What I _am_ going to do is constrict the arteries in your neck, cutting off blood flow to your brain. You'll feel dizzy; your vision will blur, and your hearing will probably give out. It won't hurt, though, and it won't last long: You'll be unconscious in a few seconds.

"But when you wake up, I want you to remember this: We, the Water Tribe…we're not the ones acting like savages here. _You are_."

Without waiting for the guard's reply, Kasori tightened his hand into a fist, feeling the man's carotid arteries following the motion and constricting, sealing off the blood from his brain. Ru Fuang's eyes rolled back in his head, and barely seven seconds later, he had completely blacked out.

Kasori released him, letting him slide down the wall into a heap at its base. He drew up several water whips and used them to freeze the man in place in case he woke up too early. He made sure to use one to gag him as well.

"Are you done playing drama queen?" Henyara asked hotly, "Because we need to get moving, _now!_ The others are waiting for us!"

"Right," Kasori muttered, shaking his head to clear it. "Right, let's go."

* * *

Captain Hacare, the captain of the Water Tribe carrack, but subordinated to Master Recuto for the duration of their voyage, peered around the shadowy hold: His eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness, and he could see over a dozen other waterbenders scattered amongst a few strategically placed boxes that actually held nothing but air, allowing the excess crew's weight to go unnoticed.

The trapdoor to the deck was open, and thin moonlight had sent a narrow beam into the hold, which only served to steepen the shadows in which the waterbenders had ensconced themselves. Standing next to the trapdoor, visible from Hacare's position directly opposite the edge of the moonlit square of outside illumination, was the XO of the Earth Kingdom vessel that had attempted to accost their carrack.

Hacare didn't like that he had to trust this Commander Rung Na, but he had to admit that the plan that Masters Kasori and Recuto had come up with was a good one: Captain Bagu had informed them that the prison staff would be dispatching a squad of Onyx Guards to demolish the Water Tribe vessel; since there were already Earth Kingdom personnel aboard, and the ship was moored several dozen meters offshore, they would have to board in order to perform the deed.

But Commander Rung Na would dupe them, telling them that they had discovered some valuable cargo that could be salvaged and that might fetch a good price for Gaozhan on the black market; he would lead them into the hold, and the waterbenders would strike. That would buy them time.

Just as he was running through the plan yet again, for perhaps the fifteenth time that night, Captain Hacare heard scraping noises from outside: He was an experienced enough seaman to recognize it as the sound of a small boat being tugged up from the water, and sure enough, he soon heard the sound of heavy footsteps across the deck above.

"Commander Rung Na," came a man's voice from above, quite clearly through the open trapdoor, "we are here to escort you off this vessel so that it can be safely demoed."

"Ah, yes," Rung Na replied quite suavely, as though he had been expecting a pleasant appointment, "I have been waiting for you. But before you torch this ship, there is something that might interest you."

"What's that?" The man didn't sound very interested.

"We found some valuable cargo below — gems from the northwest Earth Kingdom, perhaps en route to the Fire Nation, and decorative bone carvings too. That stuff's probably worth quite a bit on the black market. Since we have the ship here, why not strip it before we light 'er up?"

Captain Hacare's blood boiled at the thought of them "lighting up" his ship, but he checked his temper. Rung Na was doing well.

"Hmm…our orders are to destroy the ships together with their cargo…"

"Yeah, but that order's already been blown sky-high, hasn't it? Why not scrape some profit out of the bad circumstances?"

"Good point," the man finally grunted.

"I of course wanted your permission first before offloading the goods," Rung Na continued with just the right amount of unctuousness, "So the crates are still below. Should only take a few minutes to haul 'em up and out."

"Then let's do it — quickly. I have a Pai Sho game to get back to. Men! You heard the commander — let's get that cargo out of the hold."

The heavy footsteps resumed, and a shadow passed across the tenuous moonlight; Captain Hacare saw the silhouette of an Onyx Guard at the top of the stairs leading down into the hold. The man began descending the stairs, followed by three others, with Rung Na bringing up the rear with two of his men.

Captain Hacare caught the eye of his XO, Commander Suroqu, and gave him a nod, which the commander reciprocated. The other waterbenders braced themselves as well, turning stone-still and locking their eyes on the approaching quarries.

The earthbenders fanned out into the hold, pausing a few steps beyond the reach of the moonlight, Rung Na and his men taking up a crescent formation blocking the stairs back up to the deck.

"So where are these crates?" the leader of the Onyxes asked, "I can hardly see a thing."

"That's the idea," Rung Na remarked ruefully. The Onyx Guard turned around in surprise and confusion at that remark, and Captain Hacare seized his chance: Darting out around the crate behind which he had been hiding, he raced up directly behind the guard, seizing him around the neck with one arm and locking the choke with the other, kicking out the man's right knee and dragging him backward to the ground, using the force of their combined falling weights to drive the choke home.

The guard was unconscious mere seconds after they hit the floor, and Hacare used the momentum of the fall to roll the man off of him, springing back up to his feet…

But it was hardly necessary: The other three guards had already been summarily overpowered. They had been caught totally by surprise, their numerical disadvantage only rendering their sparse resistance all the more futile.

"That was effective," Commander Rung Na remarked.

"The Water Tribe doesn't mess around," Captain Hacare assured him meaningfully.

Rung Na ignored the challenge: "We will return topside to dispose of their boat and watch for any more guards that might come looking. We should be far enough away that the darkness will hide us from view from atop the wall, but just in case, we'll let you know if anything looks suspicious."

With not another word, the Earth Kingdom sailor took his two men and ascended the staircase back to the deck.

* * *

Li Wa's boots had no sooner splashed down in the shallow water than she was already racing up the beach, followed by ten others, pulling their hoods over their heads, obscuring their faces completely. The crew would remain behind to guard the corvette.

HAKURA had been right: There was a massive rise five hundred meters dead ahead, covered in sparse trees. The firebenders crossed the beach rapidly, transitioning to the grassy space between it and the acclivity; in a minute, they had reached its base and were climbing it steadily.

As they neared the top, Li Wa signaled for them to slow their pace, and they proceeded more cautiously, finally cresting the rocky hill: Thick trees and wild underbrush spread out before them, stretching five hundred meters, where the top of a massive stone wall was visible over the tree line in the gloom.

"There's the northwest wall," Li Wa muttered quietly, lying against the steep face of the hill; her firebenders took up similar positions all along her flanks. She drew her telescope from her belt and extended it towards the wall; Squad One mimicked her while Squad Two remained on alert.

"Five minutes for observation," the princess ordered softly, "Then we move."

Affirmatory silence met her words and continued as the six of them scanned the prison.

"I count five archers atop the wall," Sergeant Yurifuma reported.

"Probably more in support," added Corporal Shiradzura.

"I have eyes on the artillery emplacements," observed Private Urawami, one of the only two women in the squads, "Interchangeable light and heavy ballistae, looks like the former are repeating, ramparted at even intervals along the wall's edge. HAKURA's intelligence was dead on."

"You sound surprised, Private," Li Wa remarked tonelessly.

"Not at all, ma'am!" the private assured her hastily.

"No lighting — just a lot of shadows," Sergeant Yurifuma cut across her, "Should make approach a breeze."

"And allow us to clear the wall more easily," Li Wa added. "Time's up — let's move." They stowed their telescopes, and together the eleven firebenders vaulted over the tip of the ridge and picked their way rapidly down its other side, descending into the thick foliage.

The second five-hundred-meter stretch was slower going than the first due to the brush, but they were well-trained, and in minutes they had reached the outskirts of the wood, taking up positions ten meters shy of the open ground beyond the trees.

Li Wa craned her neck and scanned the wall, which rose up barely thirty meters ahead: The ballistae's dead zones were occluded by stone projections, and she could just make out the tops of some of the guards' helmets as they patrolled.

"Prepare to the scale the wall," Li Wa whispered to her firebenders. This was the risky part: With the guards patrolling back and forth, scaling the wall would require good timing; a few seconds' error could be disastrous. They and the Onyx Guards were on fairly even ground in number and somewhat less so in skill. A mistake could easily cost them their lives, and even if not, there was a distinct possibility that they would lose the element of surprise, at which point their odds of success would diminish significantly.

If that weren't bad enough, every second they waited made their position all the more precarious: They were within what Fire Nation special operations parlance called "the red zone." They were close enough to engage, which meant that they _had_ to engage; otherwise, they risked being discovered and losing their advantage of stealth and proximity. There was a repeated maxim in the inner military circles: _If you are close enough to attack and are not attacking, then you are at a disadvantage_.

The red zone came with a ticking clock…and the seconds were flying…

The guards moved, and so did the firebenders: By Li Wa's nonverbal command, they all darted forward out of the shadowy trees, reaching the wall in seconds; they leaped against it, translating the momentum of their forward jumps into vertical motion, ascending a good meter before firing jets of flame from the soles of their feet to continue their climb.

In a matter of seconds, they had crested the wall: Li Wa had a brief glimpse into the inner yard of the prison, which was an open, level pentagon with a large blockhouse in the center barely visible by an ephemeral shaft of moonlight, before she dropped directly on top of an Onyx Guard toting a longbow, knocking him to the ground.

Before the man could even grunt in surprise, her hand had covered his mouth, the other planting itself in antiparallel position at the base of his skull; she wrenched, and the man's neck snapped cleanly beneath her fingers.

Li Wa sprang up, finding herself face-to-face with another guard, who was just registering shock at seeing nearly a dozen firebenders materialize out of the shadows. Li Wa jabbed her fingers into the space between his larynx and carotid sheath, timing her attack so that the moment her fingertips contacted his skin, a thin jet of fire shot into his neck, incinerating everything in its wake, including the windpipe.

Li Wa shoved the man sideways directly over the wall to the exterior of the prison, his eyes dull with pain, unable to gasp or scream for help, or even breathe, as he fell all the way to the ground. The princess darted forward; Sergeant Yurifuma and one of his immediate subordinates, Private Batsurishi, were just ahead of her, racing for the northwesternmost turret, where three other Onyx Guards were visible in the shadows.

Li Wa followed, and it was a testament to the skill of the firebenders that they had already dispatched the archers and ramparted artillerymen, and the ballistae operators had not even noticed until just now; by the time they realized just what it was that was hurtling towards them, the three firebenders were already there:

Yurifuma tackled one to the ground, clearing the way for Batsurishi to launch himself at another, kneeing him in the groin and employing a neck-crank takedown; Li Wa vaulted over the ballista aimed out over the trees, landing neatly on her knees before the third guard, transferring the momentum of her leap into a vicious kick straight into the man's patella.

The bone failed to adequately shield the underlying joint, which snapped violently out of place with an audible crack, and the guard crumpled to the ground with a yelp of pain, which Li Wa silenced rapidly with a hammer punch to his throat, crushing the larynx into the windpipe; the shock of the attack knocked the man out — that was, if it didn't kill him.

Li Wa stood, peering carefully northeastward, where more archers were patrolling in the darkness. The rest of Squad One assembled in the turret; Squad Two would breach from the other turret, back behind them, at the southwest vertex.

"Let's move," Li Wa whispered to her soldiers, "It's only a matter of minutes at best before these bodies are discovered.

They nodded; Li Wa found a trapdoor at the interior side of the turret, opposite the ballista emplacement. They all huddled around it, standing by.

"On my mark…go."

Li Wa opened the trapdoor, revealing a stairwell. With that single, quiet syllable, the Crimson Raiders vanished into the depths of Huei Zhang Prison.

* * *

Henyara placed her hand on the handle to the metal door and paused.

"Remember what Captain Bagu said," she whispered to Kasori, "Two on the far right, and two on the far left."

Kasori nodded: "I'll take the right, you take the left?"

"Deal. Let's go."

She opened the door, and the both of them darted out into the main space of the floor; at the either of the far ends, there were vaulted doorways that offered entrance to the vertices of the wall, where the guards had their quarters and by which the prison blocks were all interconnected. Flanking the two doorways were two pairs of Onyx Guards.

Aside from the fire pots providing light and the stairwells providing access to the lower floors, the space of the wide corridor was quite empty, and thanks to the balanced firelight, there were virtually no shadows anywhere: nowhere to hide.

Kasori and Henyara had to move fast: The moment they were outside their cell, they split, he moving right and she moving left, rushing towards the guards at their respective termini. The men spotted them quite quickly, but before they could move, the two waterbenders had drawn up streams of water from the air, blasting the guards back against the walls to stun them.

Kasori kept running, trying to keep his footsteps as light as possible so that the guards below did not hear him, targeting the nearer of the two guards with a cavalcade of water whips, freezing them into blocks of ice that engulfed his feet, hands, and mouth, blocking his main contacts with the earth around him and preventing him from calling out.

The other guard was just getting to his feet when Kasori reached him: The man began to move, and Kasori recognized the motion as an earthbending form that he had studied himself; he dropped low, twisting and sweeping out the man's forward leg. His timing was perfect: Just as the man's leg was ripped from the ground, the guard sank his weight onto it, causing him to tumble forward.

Kasori stepped away, letting the man hit the stone hard, face-first, and dropped on top of him, seizing his helmet and wrenching his head back, sliding his arms down to lock the man in a blood choke; he only needed a few seconds, but in those precious seconds, it was possible that the guard could use his earthbending.

He didn't: He seemed to freeze, caught totally by surprise and not receiving blood to his brain, and struggled weakly before falling unconscious.

Kasori released him, stood up, and turned to his comrade, who was attempting to smash the ice that surrounded his feet. Kasori closed his eyes and breathed deeply, lifting a single hand and calmly constricting it into a fist, tightening the man's carotid arteries as he had done to Ru Fuang; in moments, this guard, too, was incapacitated.

Kasori turned to see how Henyara was doing…and smirked: She had one guard dangling from the ceiling in a cocoon of ice suspended by a strand bound to the stone above, and the other guard was clutching at his throat, spluttering and struggling to hold himself up on all fours as Henyara mounted him and choked him out.

Kasori trotted over to her just as she released the man's unconscious body; he saw that the Onyx Guard was sopping wet and had several contusions on his face where he had evidently been struck by powerful water whips.

"Nice," he muttered, pointing to the guard dangling from the ceiling: The poor man was totally conscious, staring around at them with wide, angry eyes, though the ice that completely engulfed his body from the mouth down kept him from speaking.

"I thought he needed to chill out," Henyara remarked. Kasori stared at her. "Yeah, I know it was lame," she waved him off, "This is too serious for jokes!"

"Never thought I'd hear _you_ say _that_," Kasori told her amusedly.

"Oh, shut up!"

Kasori chuckled: "C'mon. We have work to do." Henyara nodded, and they left the unconscious guard and his ensnared comrade, approaching the nearest door, whose sign read: B-320. Kasori peeked through the barred window of the cell door:

"Empty." They moved down the wall to B-319, which was also empty. So were B-318 and B-317.

B-316 was not: When Kasori looked through the window, he saw six Water Tribesmen chained to the rear wall. He picked the lock with a water stream and opened the door.

One of the Tribesmen – all of whom were sleeping, sitting against the wall, the chains binding their hands dangling from their rings – looked up as they entered; his tired blue eyes lit up with shock and elation at the sight of Water Tribe garbs.

"H-How…?" he groaned, not even having the strength to complete the sentence.

"Easy, _hantalo_," Kasori muttered, addressing the man with the K'asweq term for _comrade_; it was a term that the southerners frequently used to identify themselves to each other. "Are you hurt?"

"Just my pride," the man growled, much more strongly this time. Henyara set to work unlocking their shackles while Kasori examined them: Their garbs were dirty and unwashed, and the cell stank of isolation and putrefaction. He spotted a dead rat in the corner. The tribesmen were thin and haggard, but otherwise they appeared relatively fit. Kasori suspected, though, from the haunted look in this man's eyes, that they had seen horrible things here.

"We're busting you out," Kasori promised him, "Do any of you need healing?" The man gestured with his head towards the tribesman farthest on the right.

"Narukuk was wounded in a yard fight with some earthbenders a few days ago." Kasori moved to Narukuk, who, sure enough, sported several bruises on his face; his garbs were torn in multiple places, and one eye was seriously damaged.

The man was still asleep, his breathing rough and ragged; Kasori suspected he had inchoate bronchitis. He drew up a small stream of water and began passing it across Narukuk's head, where it began to glow, smoothing way the bruises in its wake; he then fixed the eye and subsequently removed his hand to the man's chest, pressing somewhat harder to get a better feel for what he was dealing with.

He had been right: He could sense the onset of severe bronchitis in the man's lungs, as well as mild malnourishment and classic signs of sleep deprivation. Two of his phalangeal bones had been broken, but his hands had still been roughly stuffed into the cuplike shackles, exacerbating the damage; Kasori removed the shackles before healing them — it was always satisfying to literally feel bones resealing beneath his hands. It was a matter of a few more seconds to cure the bronchitis and douche away the general maladies that afflicted his body.

When he was finished, he withdrew his hands, and the man awoke, groaning as he blinked his eyes rapidly, finally focusing on Kasori.

"Wh-What the…?"

"Take it easy a moment, Narukuk," Kasori urged him, "It's okay, we're friends. We're going to get you out of here." He unlocked the fetters binding his feet and swept them away.

"Are any of you waterbenders?" Henyara asked, liberating the last of the tribesmen.

"I am," the first one said, "and so are Mpalaqa and Sokkano." He pointed to two of the others on his right.

"Good," Henyara said, "We'll need your guys' help to free the others fast enough. There're a lot of you here."

"Do you know where the rest of your crew was being held?" Kasori asked. The first waterbender shook his head.

"They should all be on this floor — the guards kept us separate in bringing us in, but the few times they let us out into the yard with the other prisoners, they didn't keep us apart, so we were able to figure out where everybody is."

"That was pretty stupid of them," Henyara observed suspiciously, "Why would they do that?'

"Overconfidence," Kasori suggested, "Or they might just not have cared. They didn't want information, just to keep them locked up for Gaozhan."

"Yeah, that's basically what we deduced after a few days," the waterbender confirmed, "The guards pretty much totally ignored us the entire time. Unless they were shepherding us around or giving us food or water, we never saw them."

"Then they won't miss you," Henyara said sassily.

"We need to get going," Kasori said, "Henyara and I have taken care of the guards. We all need to spread out across this floor and start checking the rest of the cells." The three waterbenders, eager to free their comrades, nodded and pushed themselves to their feet with surprising strength.

Kasori smiled to himself: Nothing kept a Water Tribesman down.

The eight of them spread out across the hall, rapidly checking each cell: All of them contained Water Tribe prisoners, so for the next ten minutes, they were busily scurrying about, freeing the prisoners and bringing them together in the center of the chamber, off to one side so that they were not too close to the trapdoor-staircases, lest they potentially be overheard from the floor below.

In cell B-301, Kasori found Master Recuto, locked away by himself.

"You took your time, Kas," the elder Master remarked as Kasori unlocked his shackles.

"I'm surprised you didn't free yourself," Kasori teased.

"I thought about it, but this was _your_ plan, after all…" He rubbed his wrists thoughtfully. "Where are we on the rescue?"

"I think you're the last of the tribesmen on this floor."

"Good. Then it is time for phase three." The two Masters left the cell and regrouped with the rest of the Tribesmen, who were waiting for them silently. Kasori took a few minutes to walk among them, healing those who needed it, before rejoining Henyara on the opposite side of the group.

"Here's the situation, _hahantale_," Recuto began quietly, "There are two more floors of prisoners below us — captive brethren whom we _will_ set free. There are guards on each floor, but we now number…" He did a quick head count, subtracting Kasori and Henyara and adding himself. "…thirty-two. We have more than enough muscle to take care of the guards, but we must be discreet, quick, and efficient: Triggering an alarm will put both us and our friends in far greater danger."

The Water Tribesmen nodded.

"Now, the plan is simple: We will descend from here to the second floor, clear it, and sweep the cells for prisoners, whom we will release. Once we regroup, we will repeat the process on the first floor. From there, we will follow the corridor to the main prison entrance, where we will likely meet with resistance, and take a sharp turn, retracing our steps on the _outside_ of the wall, moving through the artillery's dead zone to our ship.

"From there it'll be a simple matter of climbing aboard and improvising additional transport for any who can't fit. We certainly have enough waterbenders here for that. There is a small squadron of Southern Water Tribe ships stationed at the western coast of Whaletail Island, not far from here. We will rendezvous with them, and then all return home together."

That had been Chief Magoda's idea: He had still not liked being left behind on the mission, so he had decided to take a small force of ships to Whaletail Island, which they had known was near the center of all of the action. Kasori hadn't been sure how good of an idea that was at the time, but now he was grateful that Magoda had had it: There were probably nearly a hundred Water Tribesman here, and not even half of those would fit safely aboard the carrack. Traveling all the way to the South Pole by waterbending was a risky proposition at best, so it was nice to know that they only had a short distance to go to link up with friendly forces.

"Master Kasori and Henyara," Master Recuto was saying, "will be taking a different route: From here, they will ascend to the top of the wall and link up with an Earth Kingdom sympathizer who helped us plan and execute this mission. There, they will ensure that the wall-mounted artillery and light infantry covering our ship are neutralized, so that we can safely evacuate. They will cover our retreat during the final stages of this operation. Any questions?"

No one had any: They may have been mere merchant crewmen, but they were also Water Tribesmen. They were all well-acquainted with these kinds of situations.

"Then let's go." He and the other tribesmen fanned out, taking up ready positions at the several trapdoors lining the longitudinal axis of the wide hallway. Recuto turned back briefly and looked directly at Kasori: "Good luck, Kas. Henyara."

"You too, Recuto," Kasori replied. They parted ways, Kasori and Henyara heading at a brisk pace towards the doorway on the hall's southwesternmost end, aiming to enter the guards' quarters and ascend from there to the accompanying turret above. Meanwhile, Recuto and the Water Tribesmen opened the trapdoors simultaneously and flooded down the stairs; there was a short sequence of very muffled bangs and an avalanche of hurried but quiet footsteps, and then total silence.

"That was fast," Henyara whispered.

"They had a huge advantage in numbers," Kasori reminded her: An eight to one ratio was more than enough to compensate for the skill of the Onyx Guards.

The two of them sidled up against the door to the guards' quarters, pausing and pressing their ears to the wood, listening for any signs of life. They heard nothing and looked at each other uncertainly.

"Do you think they're asleep?" Henyara breathed.

"Only one way to find out…" Kasori took careful hold of the handle, took a deep breath, opened the door, and raced into the unknown.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

...aaaaaand cliffhanger. So part one of the prison arc is complete; part two - Chapter 14, "Prison Break" - will be posted _this coming Wednesday_, followed by chapter 15 _next Saturday_. Just a reminder, I will be continuing this semiweekly pattern until Book I is finished, after which I will resume a weekly pattern. Also remember to check out Ciloron's _Avatar: The Tides of Chaos_ - he's updating on a weekly basis too, every Saturday.

Oh, and feel free to leave reviews: Those are always nice.


	15. Bk I, Ch 14, Prison Break

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 14:** _**Prison Break**_

Princess Li Wa and Squad One found themselves deluged rapidly into near-total darkness; the staircase they had followed ended only a few feet from a wall, two hallways spilling away on either side in the opposite direction, back towards the interior; she peeked around one of the walls flanking the stairs and spotted a partition only a few yards ahead, permeated by a wooden door.

She supposed the guards' quarters were immediately beyond the door, and that there was a twin just like it on the other side of the stairs. She pointed this out to Yurifuma and directed him to take Privates Batsurishi and Hirakyou to the right, while she took Corporal Shiradzura and Private Urawami to the left.

The princess and her two firebenders stacked up at the door, and then Li Wa rushed quietly through, opening the door with a sweeping gesture as she went. She found herself darting into a cluttered space lined on both sides with bunks arranged in militarily parsimonious fashion; in most of the bunks, guards were lying on their backs, sleeping soundly, unaware that death was about to fall upon them, and that their sleep was about to become permanent.

Li Wa signaled manually to Urawami and Shiradzura, who nodded and separated, each taking a side and proceeding along behind the princess, carefully slitting the throat of each guard with quiet fire blades. Li Wa herself moved more quickly, crossing the hall to the opposite side, where it turned right and merged with the one where Sergeant Yurifuma would be conducting the same procedure…

Sure enough, when she reached the end of the hall, Yurifuma appeared from the other one; their eyes met, and she gave him a nod. As he returned the gesture, their subordinates finished cleaning up the guards, falling in line with their commanders.

"Ma'am," Urawami spoke up in a soft whisper, "there is a door immediately left of the one that led to the stairwell to the turret, just as HAKURA's schematics indicated."

"Once again, you sound surprised, Private," Li Wa drawled. Private Urawami did not seem to know how to respond to that.

"Ditto on our side," Yurifuma added tersely.

"That is the door we must take to link up with Squad Two — let's move," Li Wa ordered; they all moved to the door, stacking up quietly. She pressed her ear lightly against the wood, listening carefully: nothing.

Li Wa held up three fingers…two…one.

She opened the door, racing swiftly through and immediately spotting a guard on her left; her fist shot out in a hammer punch, enhanced by flame, straight into his throat, crushing and fritting his trachea into a searing mass of burnt flesh; Urawami was in right behind her, moving right instead of left, ramming into a guard and pushing off of him, sending him crashing into the far wall, following with a bolt of fire that lanced directly through his eye.

As the rest of Squad One poured in behind her, Li Wa scanned the room rapidly: Its longitudinal axis was lined by alternating fire pots and trapdoors, which she knew from HAKURA's schematics opened to staircases leading down to the levels below. At the far end of the wide corridor, whose lateral walls were lined with cells, ten on each side, there were two more guards, who were now running towards them.

"Take one of them alive!" Li Wa ordered her squad before launching a bolt of fire at the left-hand guard; he dodged with a shoulder roll, coming up and transferring the momentum of his roll into an earthbending attack, hurling several stones from the floor at her.

Li Wa sidestepped the rocks easily, punching out a quick string of fireballs; the man managed to dodge the first two, but the others soon overwhelmed him, deluging him in flames. Li Wa darted up to his body and fired a final bolt through the base of his skull for good measure. She looked around and saw that Corporal Shiradzura had secured his companion, pinning him with an arm lock face-down on the ground.

Just then, the door on the opposite side of the room from which they had entered opened, and Squad Two burst through, fanning out in ready stances. When they spotted Li Wa and Squad One, they trotted over.

"You're late to the party, Sergeant," Li Wa addressed Sergeant Warojiwa, leader of Squad Two.

"Forgive us, ma'am: There was a rousing game of Pai Sho going on in the guards' quarters, and we had to, ah, break it up."

"Fan out and check these cells for FURISHIMA," Li Wa ordered; the man saluted, and he and his squad rapidly spread out across the room. Then she continued:

"Yurifuma, Urawami, Batsurishi, Hirakyou — sounds like we have company." A furious staccato of footsteps could be heard from below; undoubtedly there would soon be earthbenders pouring up from the lower level. "Open those trapdoors and give them a _warm_ welcome."

"Yes ma'am." The entirety of Squad One, minus Shiradzura, who was still holding the guard in place, raced to the trapdoors, flinging them open and extending their hands, unleashing rivers of fire through the openings; a cavalcade of screams rent the air as the flames flooded over what sounded like at least a dozen earthbenders.

Li Wa strode calmly over to Shiradzura and knelt down by his prisoner, tracing the air immediately shy of his temple with a blade of fire.

"You have a Fire Nation citizen locked up here," Li Wa told him, "_Where is he?_"

"I'm not telling you a thing!" the man growled in a voice muffled by the face-full of stone he was pressed against.

"That's too bad. Then my only choice is to _rip this prison apart_ until I find him myself. That will certainly mean the deaths of dozens of your comrades — just listen to their screams." She paused to allow the man to absorb the death cries of the earthbenders who were being burnt alive in their armor. "Now is that what you want to happen to_ everyone_ in this prison, or will you give me the information I want and spare at least _some_ of their lives?"

"There're barely a dozen of you — you'll never make it out of here alive now that we know you're here!"

"Are you willing to bet your friends' lives on that?" Li Wa asked him in a deadly whisper. She was pleased to see the man shudder at the ineffable coldness of her words.

Silence — apart from the screams of the Onyx Guards.

"The Fire Nation spy is in Cell Block D…Level One…Cell 13."

"D-113," Li Wa repeated, "Thank you: Your help is appreciated." To show him just how appreciated it was, Princess Li Wa gave him a merciful death: a blade of fire straight through his spine. "Join your comrades, Corporal," she said to Shiradzura.

"Yes ma'am." He obeyed.

Li Wa straightened up in time to hear the blast of a clarion reverberate through the stones, and suddenly a string of bells began to sound.

She smiled: _ So much for the element of surprise._

_And that means…no more holding back!_

* * *

"For the last time," Captain Ji Chen Gren growled, pacing menacingly in front of FURISHIMA, who was chained to the wall, bleeding and bruised, "_what_ do you know about the Fire Nation's special operational unit based in the eastern isles?"

"I have told you, sir," FURISHIMA gasped, his words spattering the metal beneath him with blood. "I am just a simple ceramics merchant. I know nothing of these matters."

"You are _lying_," Ji told him viciously, "You are a Fire Nation _spy_, not some peddler!" He paused in his pacing. "It's time you started telling the truth — and I'm going to _force_ it out of you!"

He had brought a large rock into the cell with him; he rooted himself in a strong stance and levitated the rock easily in front of him, preparing to use it to crush the man's left hand, which was pinioned helplessly above his head, against the wall —

But just then, there was a clarion blast, and suddenly bells were ringing all over the place.

_An alarm!_

"Looks like your lucky night," Ji growled to the Fire Nation spy, "You just got a moment's reprieve." He dropped the rock, turned, opened the cell door, and darted outside to see what was going on.

* * *

Kasori and Henyara rushed into the guards' quarters, ready to confront a dozen of them at once if need be — but there was no one there: The door through which they had come entered the hallway orthogonally, with two rows of bunks, one against either wall, running down several yards to the right, until the corridor turned left and wrapped around the wall opposite their entrance, which seemed to form a partition between two dormitory areas.

There were no guards to be seen.

There was another door immediately inside on their left, and they took it, finding themselves in a short stretch of hallway that turned right to link up with its twin on the opposite side of the dorm; forming the midpoint between the corridor that joined them was a stairwell leading up; Kasori and Henyara began climbing it slowly, doing their best to minimize the sound of their boots on the stone.

The light faded as the torch-lit dorm receded behind them; there was a closed trapdoor above whose cracks glistened ever so faintly with wan moonlight.

"You think Bagu's done his part yet?" asked Henyara in a breathy whisper.

"Dunno," Kasori whispered back tersely, "I don't hear anything strange from up there."

"If there _are_ guards, what's your plan? You gonna use that – whatever you wanna call it – bloodbending of yours?"

He looked at her weirdly in the near-darkness.

"_Bloodbending_? Really? _That's_ what you wanna call it?"

"Well, you bend blood, don't you?" she hissed defensively, "You have a better name?"

"I hadn't planned on naming it."

"Well, calling it _it_ is getting old…unless you'd rather I just call it freaky-thing-about-you-number-one-hundred-and-twelve."

Kasori shook his head: "Let's just go with bloodbending — and yes, that was the general plan." He wondered briefly what the other one hundred and eleven freaky things about him were before they reached the trapdoor; he turned to Henyara and held up a finger to his lips; she rolled her eyes and nodded exasperatedly, as if to say that she _knew_ that they had to be quiet.

Kasori gave the trapdoor a very light experimental push: It wasn't locked.

He dropped into a slight crouch to muffle his footsteps, and then darted forward, pushing the trapdoor up in his wake; at the top of the stairs, he turned sharply and brought the trapdoor down gently onto the stone floor of the turret, glancing around rapidly as Henyara joined him.

There were three Onyx Guards here, all of them staring out over the open ocean beyond the turret's rim, on the lookout for threats.

Too bad they didn't notice the one right behind them: Kasori had ample time to focus, clenching his fist and simultaneously blood choking all three of them, dropping them to the ground in seconds.

He and Henyara looked around: To their right, the turret opened out onto the wall heading westward, in the opposite direction that they needed to go, and Kasori could just barely make out the shapes of the archers who were patrolling there. But the turret was dark enough – being shaded from what little moonlight there was tonight – and the distance between them great enough that Kasori and Henyara could essentially hide in plain sight, hugging the inside arc of the turret's circumference and sidling up against the side of the opposite archway, opening out onto the wall to the east.

"Bagu's not here yet," Kasori whispered: He could see the archers stationed to this section of wall patrolling back and forth as normal, the three ballista emplacements, ramparted at the exterior edge of the wall, all manned by lone operators. Eight guards in total.

"What's taking that idiot so long?" Henyara seethed quietly, "You don't think he ratted us out, do you?"

"I don't hear an alarm, and besides, Recuto and the others are already dispensing with the element of surprise as we speak, so it doesn't really matter either way."

"It'll determine whether I smash his face in or not," she growled.

"He's probably just running late," Kasoir placated, "He only gave himself thirty minutes, and something could easily have come up…"

"So…what? Do we do his job for him?"

"That was my original plan, yeah, but there're eight of them, and Recuto is probably still working his way down to the lowermost level. If these guys manage to sound an alarm, they could end up being trapped."

"We can't wait very long."

"Looks like we don't have to — check it out." He pointed furtively to the opposite turret, which, along with the one in which they were ensconced, flanked the single gate to the prison's interior: Shapes were moving in the darkness there, and seconds later, four men reified out of the gloom; at their helm was Captain Bagu.

"Took him long enough," Henyara snorted.

"At least he's here now," Kasori muttered, "We can time our attack with his."

Captain Bagu and his little squad approached the nearest archer, who accosted them:

"Halt! What business do you have up here? The wall is limited to authorized personnel only."

"I was just informed by one of the engineers that there is a technical defect in the northernmost ballista emplacement on this wall," Bagu replied smoothly, "He caught us on his way to gather up a team to haul it inside for dedicated repairs, and we volunteered."

"We weren't informed of such a defect," the archer replied suspiciously, "The last engineering inspection was three weeks ago — they told us everything was fine!"

"Look, man, I dunno anything about engineering — I can only tell ya what the man told me."

"Who was this man? What was his name?"

_Checkmate_, Kasori thought grimly. The engineering story was a terrible idea at best: Engineering inspections were judiciously logged and scheduled, particularly in military installations like this one. Then again, it was only a ploy — just something to distract the archer's attention.

But asking for the engineer's _name_ — that placed the mental burden squarely and wholly on Captain Bagu, and that left the archer at the advantage.

"Time to move," Kasori whispered to Henyara; she nodded.

Together, they stepped out of the turret, she rushing forward and ensnaring the nearest archer in a blood choke, and he reaching out towards the ocean and drawing his hands back sharply, eructing three highly compressed jets of water and hurtling them directly towards the ballista operators.

"Wha — cover!" one of them called to his companions, jumping sideways away from his piece as it was summarily pulverized by the blast of water; the other two were not so lucky: They were caught in the streams, launched backward onto the stone, both unconscious.

Henyara had by then already neutralized the archer she had engaged, and was moving to a second, who barely saw her in time to widen his eyes as she locked him into a lateral chokehold, dragging him to the ground and incapacitating him in mere seconds.

The other three archers and the lone remaining artilleryman all turned to see her, and the archers relinquished their weapons in order to switch to earthbending. But Captain Bagu and his three men preempted them, each taking one opponent and sinking them into the stones of the wall, immobilizing their arms and legs and burying them up to their necks, stopping up their bending.

"Treachery!" the archer who had been speaking with Bagu snarled; the earthbender captain gagged the four Onyx Guards with bracelets of rock derived from the wall.

"Yes, _yours_," the captain spat back at the man. He looked up at Kasori and Henyara, who approached him. "Sorry we are late — we really _did_ get stopped by an engineer who enlisted us to help him move a decommissioned ballista to a disposal facility in the yard.

"It worked out either way," Kasori said quickly, interposing himself between the captain and Henyara, who still appeared quite irritated with the man's tardiness.

An earthbender came out of the turret behind Bagu; Kasori recognized him as one of the captain's men.

"Sir," he said, "the turret is secured."

"Good," Bagu grunted; the man returned to the turret, and Bagu redirected his attention to the waterbenders: "So now that the artillery's knocked out, what next?"

"Now we wait and watch — Recuto and the others should be exiting through the gate shortly, and we'll cover them from here."

They settled into an awkward silence, but it did not last long: Suddenly, the air was split by the shrill blast of a clarion, and then a cavalcade of bells began pealing, their echoic tones resonating all across the prison.

"What the — an alarm?" Bagu exclaimed.

"Did we set it off?" Henyara asked sharply, turning back and forth, hands lifted in a preliminary waterbending stance, her eyes combing the gloom for enemies…

"No, it's coming from over there," Kasori observed, pointing towards the northwestern part of the wall. "But…why? What's going on over there?"

"Who cares?" Henyara scoffed, "All the better for us! Now the guards' attention'll be diverted from here. We can probably get away without them even noticing!"

"But they wouldn't sound that alarm for no reason!" Kasori protested. He had a strange feeling in his gut that something important was happening over there.

"Kas, stay focused!" Henyara hissed, "We have a job to do!"

"Not really," Kasori countered, "Recuto and the rest of the tribesmen can handle the exit, especially since, like you said, the guards' attention is going to be distracted now. And Captain Bagu can still cover their evacuation."

"You're going to trust _him_ with that?" Henyara demanded, casting a withering glance at Bagu.

"No, I'm trusting _you_ with that. _I'm_ going to go check out that disturbance."

"Are you insane?" she asked, nonplussed, "You'll be walking into a hornets' nest!"

"I'm going, Henyara," Kasori assured her stonily. He couldn't shake the sense that he _had_ to see what was going on only a few hundred meters away.

"Then I'm going with you."

"What? That's ridiculous — you're going to trust Bagu to handle this part of the plan by himself?"

"Not really, but I'm not going to let you run off alone! Besides, you won't have much time to check things out before we're ready for evac. You'll need all the help you can get."

He couldn't really argue with that: With the prison's defenses focused on the northwestern walls, Recuto would likely meet very little resistance; he and the other Water Tribesmen would close on the carrack quite quickly.

There was certainly no time to argue about it, anyway.

"Fine — Bagu, can you handle things here?"

"Of course. We will defend the Water Tribesmen, no matter the cost."

"Thank you. If the tribesmen can get to the ship unnoticed, then you should probably follow suit. No sense waiting around up here where you could be spotted."

"I appreciate your concern, Master Kasori, but I will not be leaving."

"What?" Kasori asked, caught by surprise. What could he mean he wasn't leaving?

"I and my men have no intentions of leaving this prison. We will stay and face down the cowards who attack innocents on the high seas. The same goes for the men who are already on your ship."

"Bagu, you don't stand a chance," Kasori reminded him gently.

"Of course we don't, but that is not the point. My king has betrayed my country: He shall know what I think of that."

"Gaozhan'll kill you," Kasori said bluntly; no point sugarcoating that.

"Almost certainly," Bagu agreed calmly, "but that is the price for my crimes."

Kasori wanted to dissuade the man…but he could see that he was totally resolved, and every second he delayed was precious time slipping between his fingers, time he needed to check out…whatever was going on at the other side of the prison.

"Your sacrifice is noble, Captain — it befits your rank. You have our thanks — _all_ of ours," he added somewhat pointedly, glancing at Henyara, who, to his surprise, gave the captain a curt nod of affirmation.

"It has been an honor to meet you and your comrades," Bagu replied, "Now go. We will stand firm till the end."

Kasori and Henyara exchanged a glance, nodded to the man, and darted away along the wall.

* * *

"All squads, descend!" Li Wa ordered, racing to one of the open trapdoors and plunging fearlessly down the stairs, overleaping several charred bodies of what had formerly been living, breathing Onyx Guards.

She landed on the floor and rolled, transferring her momentum fluidly into a fire blast that struck a guard squarely in the chest, the force of the attack sending him flying backward, screaming as the mantle that enveloped him ignited.

Another guard attempted to engage her from the right, but he was intercepted by Sergeant Yurifuma; Li Wa did not wait to see what happened, but merely raced into the fray that was swelling all around her.

She struck down two more guards with fire blasts to their heads, and then sidestepped a boulder hurled by a third, retaliating with a powerful stream of flames that sent the man scurrying for the cover of one of the spiral staircases. While he was pinned down, Corporal Nuwoyama struck him down.

A fourth Onyx came at Li Wa from behind, but she sunk her weight and leaned forward, launching her leg out into a powerful rear kick that caught the man in the groin and released a burst of fire into his inguinal regions, incinerating them; the guard collapsed, either dead from shock or otherwise completely incapacitated.

They had caught the prison's defenses by surprise, and the guards were still attempting to rally behind the alarm that was sounding; as a consequence, this second level of Cell Block D was clear in minutes.

"Squad Two, secure and hold this floor!" Li Wa commanded briskly, "Squad One, with me to Level One!"

The firebenders spread out, Sergeant Warojiwa and his troops fanning out and adopting defensive positions at the two doorways at either end of the level, connecting the cell block to the flanking guards' quarters, as well as positions to defend the stairwells against intrusion. Sergeant Yurifuma and his soldiers lifted the trapdoors to Level One and descended rapidly, preluding their attack with streams of fire.

Li Wa took up a position near the southeastern corner of the corridor and setting her feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart; she began to move her hands smoothly and lightly, in a move that she had copied from studying the waterbenders who had assisted her fleet in disposing of Neruse, the Pirate King.

Ribbons of intensely hot flames coiled and spiraled around her, swiftly congregating into a swirling ring girding her waist, maintaining a steady one-meter diameter. Li Wa dropped down, letting her weight dropped precipitously and bringing her hands down in a sharp gesture; the ring of fire followed, searing straight through the stone surrounding her feet, carving through it as though it were made of foam.

With a spitting, crashing sound, the disk of stone – the floor of Level Two and the ceiling of Level One – dropped straight through, the rock connecting it to the continuum of the stone around it vaporized by the intense heat of her attack, allowing it to freefall from the second level to the first, heralded by a plume of smoke and dust.

Li Wa rolled away as the stone disk hit the floor of Level One, striking down two guards immediately nearby and then plunging into the rapidly disseminating cloud of smoke.

* * *

Captain Ji Chen Gren came out of the cell and looked around: Onyx Guards were scurrying about, some racing up the stairs to Level Two, others carefully checking the cells on this level, to ensure that no prisoners had escaped. Ji hailed a passing guard, a corporal, who halted and saluted.

"What's going on, Corporal? What's the source of the disturbance?"

"I'm not sure, sir!" the man barked back in true military style, "But there's a lot of noise coming from above!"

"Then hold here for now until we know more," Ji ordered, "No point in everyone rushing off to one place."

"By your command, sir!"

Ji assisted the corporal and other earthbenders on that floor in sweeping the cells, some of which were empty but most of which contained delusional dissenters to King Gaozhan's great regime.

Then, the bangs and screams coming from above suddenly intensified and grew markedly closer: The disturbance appeared to have shifted from Level Three to Level Two. A cavalcade of footsteps and thuds was thundering through the ceiling, and there was an unmistakable roaring sound coming through the trapdoors, along with bursts of light and a sudden influx of hot air…

"Firebenders!" screamed an Onyx Guard from above through the trapdoor, alerting his comrades and confirming Ji's suspicions, "Firebenders have infiltrated the comp — " His words were silenced by a horrible hissing, gargling sound as he was struck by a blast of flame.

But Ji's rage burned hotter than any fire: He would rip every last one of these firebending swine limb-from-limb. He knew what they were here for: the spy. He had known – had felt it in his gut – that the Fire Nation would eventually send a team to rescue their precious saboteur. But he had to admit: He had not expected it to be so soon. It was barely more than a week since the agent's capture.

_One of his friends must've tipped them off_, he thought angrily.

_No matter_. It was time to smash some skulls!

As he had the thought, firebenders came running down the stairs, one of them only a few meters away from Ji: He stomped his heel, summoning up a large rock and striking it, sending it hurtling on a collision course with the firebender's face.

The Fire Nation soldier, who was nonetheless not dressed in Fire Nation armor, but rather in a simple, leathery-looking garment of dull black, complete with facemask and hood, darted away, the rock nevertheless clipping his arm, sending him spinning to the ground; he retaliated fluidly with a fire ball, which Ji summarily blocked with a slab of earth, fragmenting the latter into shards that he launched one by one at the firebender.

The man managed to roll away again, but he crashed into another stairwell in the process, dazing him; Ji moved in to finish the man off, but just then, the ceiling in front of him and to his left collapsed with an outburst of dust and smoke that sent him recoiling.

Though his eyes were momentarily blinded by the thick haze, Ji could feel the vibrations transmitted through the earth beneath him, betraying the approach of another firebender, this one much lighter on his feet, much faster, and definitely – he could tell even from the vibrations – more dangerous.

He darted sideways, detected the arm movements characteristic of firebending, and sure enough, a bolt of flame shot past him, lancing straight through the spot where he had been a second before; he retaliated with a trio of boulders flung at the source of the vibrations, but subsequent vibrations told him that the firebender had easily dodged his attack, dancing fluidly out of the boulders' paths.

The smoke and dust began to rise and settle respectively, clearing the air somewhat, just enough for him to make out the shape of his adversary: The form told him that this was a female firebender, and she was standing merely fifteen paces away. They stared at each other through the fog for a split second, sizing each other up, before the altercation resumed:

They exchanged blasts of flame and rock, alternating offense and defense, weaving in and out of the battlers all around them. Their duel led them in a circle around the corridor, threading through the thin crowd of fire- and earthbenders, the staircases, and the fire pots.

Ji was forced to admit — this firebender was _good_: Her skill was undeniable, and the soldier in him, as repugnant as the idea struck every other fiber of his being, had to admire her agility, poise, precision, and power.

Her movements were nimble and perfectly executed, and she seemed to flow between attacks with remarkable elasticity, bounding through the air and darting from side to side with the kinetic dynamism of a roaring, flickering flame. Even in the soupy haze of rock dust and smoke, she seemed to beam with energy.

This was not the first time Ji had dueled a firebender, and it certainly wasn't the first time that he had seen one in action, but this woman was on a totally different level — even her motions were unorthodox: Though her style was aggressive and vigorous like most firebending, it was much more contained and focused; instead of wide, sweeping blasts of flame or powerful fireballs, though she certainly employed those, the woman seemed to favor compressed, lightning-fast bolts and thin spurts aimed at his weakest points. She was even bending with her elbows and knees, something Ji had never seen a firebender do.

And the sheer _power _of her attacks: Every time Ji blocked an incoming blast with an earthen wall, he was forced back by the psychic shock of having to withstand such energy, and whenever she did counter his attacks directly, which was rare, second to her catlike evasion, she did so with consummate ease, cleaving or even simply incinerating boulders with nothing but the heat of her flames.

And what was worst was that, as the seconds flowed into minutes and their duel raged on; as the other Onyx Guards were pushed back and driven away by the other firebenders, who nevertheless did not come to the woman's aid, preferring to simply watch, almost as if with amusement; as the smoke and dust finally settled somewhat; as Ji began to sweat from the rapidly growing, sweltering heat; as he pulled out every reserve of his prodigious skill, fought with _everything_ he had…Ji finally had to admit to himself that he did not think that he could beat her.

It wasn't that she had the element of surprise, or that she had caught him on a bad day, or some other excuse:

She was just…better.

Better.

Faster, stronger, more poised, more controlled, more precise, better form, better technique.

Just…better.

The thought stung like acid, burned worse than the flames to which he was so perilously close to succumbing, which he was just barely managing to deflect.

How could he be bested by a _firebender?_ It was unthinkable!

But it was happening: His next earth wall was slightly off the mark, and a wisp of flame overshot, singeing the shoulder of his armor; it didn't hurt – physically – but it shocked him enough that the next earth wall was nowhere near strong enough; the subsequent fire blast sent him flying backward…into the door of Cell D-113.

He scrambled to his feet from where he had crumpled to the floor, kicking back to send a distracting boulder at the firebender before opening the cell door and darting inside, managing to slam it shut in time to intercept her next blast of flames. He flung open the door and erected one final wall of rock, sending it hurtling towards her…

Instead of avoiding the attack, she met it head-on with a powerful river of flames flowering from the palm of her hand, surging around the sides of the stone slab, threatening to lick at Ji's extremities; he rushed forward and hid directly behind the stone, where he was safest — or so he thought: He continued to pour his will into the earth, fighting to keep it solid against the pounding stream of fire, but to no avail.

She was too good.

_Better…_

The stone was cracking, disintegrating before the sheer heat of this firebender's fury, skill, and inborn power, all combined into merciless flame: Ji was hurled backward again, this time much harder, as the rock wall finally burst apart, vaporizing into white-hot plasma as the roar of the fire pounded in his ears and his head swam from the oppressive heat, bright flames – searing red-orange with licks of blue and green – washing the air all around him.

The sensation – something like being roasted inside a furnace without actually touching the flames – was so intense that he barely felt the blow to his head as he crashed into D-113, skidding to a halt on the metal floor just a few feet in front of FURISHIMA, who looked up at him with vaguely conscious curiosity.

Ji struggled to his feet, barely able to move; his entire body ached and stung from the heat; he was drenched in sweat.

The firebender entered the cell with confident, purposeful strides.

"Game over, earthbender," she said coldly — how could such a powerful firebender have such a _cold_ voice? It was like solid ice. "This entire cell is made of metal, and the only way out is through me. Give up…and you may yet live."

Somehow he didn't believe her.

But it didn't matter: He would _never_ give in to a firebender, not even one who was this strong.

"No," he managed to growl, with just enough defiance to pass for strength.

She didn't buy it.

"Very well," she said coolly, lifting a hand and generating a single ball of flame, so hot that its entire inner half was bluish-green. "Then you will _die_."

Then Ji saw his chance: the stone he had brought into the cell to torture FURISHIMA; it was lying only a few feet away.

He moved, turning what little energy he had left into a single sweeping gesture, sending the little boulder hurtling straight at the woman's obscured face —

She blasted it.

Immediately, reflexively — she looked as though she had seen it coming. Or was she just really _that_ good?

Either way, his last hope fell to the ground in a cloud of tiny earthen shards enveloped in smoke.

She ignited a new fireball: "Amusing. Now…"

She poised herself to strike him down. Was this really going to be his end? Was he really going to die by the hand of a _firebender?_

The thought sickened him.

And then it happened: She stopped, her hand jerking suddenly, closing into a fist and extinguishing its flame; with a grunt she was flung by some mysterious force against the wall, pinned there momentarily as someone entered the cell, hand held up, palm out, aimed directly at the firebender.

It was a Water Tribesman: a young boy with thick dark hair and green eyes.

_Green eyes…?_

That was the last thought that Ji registered: The waterbender turned his oddly-colored gaze on him, lifted his other hand, and clenched it into a fist; and suddenly Ji's head swam, as though it had suddenly been evacuated, his ears thundered with sudden pressure, as though he had been submerged in water, and he collapsed.

Everything vanished into darkness.

* * *

Princess Li Wa watched as Kasori did…whatever it was he was doing, and the earthbender fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Impressive," she said. Kasori turned back to her and lowered his hand; the mysterious, ineluctable pressure that had kept her bound to the wall vanished, and Henyara entered behind her friend, shutting the door to the cell.

"Wish we could say the same for your team," the girl replied smartly, "They completely ignored us. We could have been assassins for all they seemed to care!"

Li Wa smiled beneath her mask.

"Of course they ignored you: I gave them _direct orders_ to. Although, they weren't supposed to be _seen_ by you, either…"

Henyara merely snorted.

Kasori turned towards her; even she, a gifted reader of people, had to admit that the look in his eyes was indecipherable.

"What are you doing here, Li Wa?" he asked quietly.

"Li Wa?"repeated Henyara, obviously surprised.

Li Wa smiled beneath her mask.

"Very good, Green Eyes, very good — what gave it away, might I ask?"

"Nothing," he replied flatly, "but like you said: I'm intelligent and perceptive."

"Indeed," she agreed, "but now what?"

"Why are you here?"

"Oh, come now, Green Eyes, isn't it obvious?" she drawled, still smiling.

"Pretend it isn't," Kasori commanded bluntly. _No nonsense tonight, eh? Just like before…_

Li Wa lifted her hand and pointed to where FURISHIMA was still chained to the wall. Kasori approached the poor man, who was barely stirring, covered in blood, dirt, and bruises.

"Who is he?" Henyara demanded while Kasori examined FURISHIMA silently.

"He is a citizen of the Fire Nation," Li Wa informed her tersely.

"He's a _spy_," Kasori corrected from the other side of the cell.

"My, my, you _are_ perceptive," Li Wa congratulated him, genuinely impressed this time. _This boy would make a fine spy himself…_

"You came all this way for one spy?" Kasori asked caustically, "Don't you know how dangerous that was?"

"Don't patronize me, Green Eyes, of course I know! But I do not leave my people behind when they need me!"

He seemed momentarily shocked by that statement: His green eyes flashed with something like alarm, and he appeared to realize something important before wiping his countenance clean again and returning her words with stony stoicism.

"Commendable," he said shortly, giving her a rough nod. Then he turned, and Li Wa watched, fascinated, as he drew his hand through the air; a thin stream of water materialized, converging from innumerable droplets swirling in from the surrounding atmosphere, and he passed the stream onto FURISHIMA, bringing it to a hover only a few centimeters above his skin.

The water began to glow as Kasori guided it with his hands, sweeping it across the afflicted spy's body; the bruises shrank and vanished; the cuts were washed clean and stitched back up, resealed into perfectly smooth skin, as though they had never existed; and even the dirt and dust began to siphon off, all disappearing in the wake of the healing water.

When he had finished, Kasori withdrew the water, which stopped glowing, and then passed it into the locks of the shackles, where Li Wa saw it freeze, shaping to the tumblers; with a twist of one hand, the fetters sprang open, and Kasori swept them away.

FURISHIMA began to awaken fully.

"Now why would you do that?" Li Wa asked, truly curious.

"Because I don't leave people behind when they need _me_, either," Kasori replied almost coldly. He stepped away from the Fire Nation spy, who was now rubbing his eyes as though he had just awoken from deep sleep, and made for the cell door.

_I guess I should tell him…_

"There is something you should know before you leave," Li Wa said, freezing the boy in his tracks.

"What's that, _Princess?_" Henyara demanded suspiciously.

"Gaozhan is preparing for war with the Southern Water Tribe," she answered straightly.

Henyara seemed surprised, but the look on Kasori's face was more along the lines of sadness — the look of someone who had been given news that he had already expected…

"But that's not news to you, is it?" Li Wa continued silkily.

"Taking everything into consideration," Kasori answered carefully, not looking at her, "no, not really."

"Then you must know that your recent actions will have, ah, exacerbated things quite severely."

"Spit it out, _Your Highness_," Henyara hissed, "Just what is it you're trying to say."

_Poor uncouth girl — can't read between lines…_

_All right — I'll oblige her._

"With an all-out attack on his prison, and the Water Tribe now fully cognizant of what has happened to its missing people…Gaozhan will have no choice but to accelerate his plans. He will invade. My sources indicate that he has already amassed a powerful fleet in the southern isles of the Earth Kingdom."

"He can't be that foolish!" Henyara insisted, though her eyes were wide and her voice had dropped to a murmur; Kasori did not make a sound and still would not meet Li Wa's eyes. "The Water Tribe Navy — !"

" — is the most powerful in the world, yes, we're all aware of that, girl, thank you," Li Wa finished with haughty impatience, "Gaozhan knows it, too, but it would by no means be the first time in history that a superior force had been defeated by an inferior one. Warfare is more than numbers and odds. It is also a matter of strategy, tactics, luck — and most importantly, _will_.

"Gaozhan has an insatiable lust for conquest, and he will not be cowed by something as meager as an impressive fleet. You can bet that he has been planning this for some time and will be quite prepared."

"Why are you telling us this?" Kasori asked very quietly, still refusing to make eye contact. Only half of his attention seemed to be on the cell; the rest was occupied elsewhere, somewhere far removed…

"Because like I told you weeks ago," Li Wa answered, "you have my respect. If Gaozhan wants to invade the Southern Water Tribe, that's his business. But I will not allow him to do so with impunity: He will have to have the guts to face you head-on. I will not permit him to stab you in the back."

"Just cut us down from the front," Henyara finished icily.

"This is not _my_ war," Li Wa brushed her off casually.

"Where is he going to attack?" Henyara demanded, eyes blazing with anger.

"I don't know," the princess responded coolly.

"You're _lying!_"

"No, she's not," Kasori intervened, still in the same quiet, distrait tone.

"How do you know?" Henyara asked, eying Li Wa with extreme revulsion.

Finally Kasori looked at her: His eyes were stone-cold and totally empty. She could not read a thing from their emerald depths.

"Because she has nothing to gain," he answered flatly.

_Smart boy._

"There is someone here who might know, however," Li Wa told them alluringly. She pointed to the unconscious earthbender captain, slumped against the far wall, next to FURISHIMA, who was now fully alert and following the conversation with the inconspicuous, dispassionate, and aquiline keenness of a trained intelligence officer.

"That man," Li Wa continued, scrutinizing Kasori's reaction, "is a captain of the Onyx Guard. He works directly for Gaozhan. It is possible that he knows of the king's plans."

"Or he might know a fat lot of nothing," Henyara spat.

"As they say in the intelligence world," Li Wa answered quite smoothly, "_any_ information is better than _no_ information." Kasori's eyes had hardened considerably, but there was still nothing in them that smacked of the kind of anger she was seeing in Henyara. He still appeared to be absorbed in his own cogitations.

_Very interesting…_

"And what, we're just supposed to wait until the guy wakes up?" Henyara snapped, "In case you've forgotten, there's a _battle_ going on outside this door!"

"My firebenders are more than capable of buying us time," Li Wa said confidently, leaning back in a relaxed position against the metal wall.

"We're not waiting," Kasori said quietly; he approached the earthbender, crouched down by his head, and lifted his upper body, propping it against his own knee; with a flick of his hand, he drew another thin stream of water, looping it around the captain's helmeted head like a crown.

The water began to glow – though there seemed to be something subtly different in the color of its light – and Kasori closed his eyes, placing his hands on either side of the man's head, fingertips immersed in the water.

The cell grew silent, except for the gentle hum of the glowing water. What was he doing, Li Wa wondered? She knew that healers could connect to the inner energies of a person – that was how they performed their art – but could they use that connection to enter the person's _mind?_ Read thoughts, extract memories?

Or distort them…fabricate and implant them?

Tear emotions to smithereens and replace them with soul-crushing void? Or just the opposite — shatter the still heart and replace it with fiery turmoil?

All in all, it was a delectably fascinating prospect: This was potentially the most powerful weapon she had ever seen – minus whatever that strange telekinesis was that he had used to knock the captain unconscious and pin her to the wall – a weapon that could wage war on a person from the _in_side.

Kasori's face was twitching, his brow furrowing and unfurrowing in a dance of what appeared to be consternation; Li Wa could only imagine the sensory overload of diving straight into the vast ocean that was the human mind.

But after a minute, he stopped; the water beneath his fingertips vanished into thin air, and he opened his eyes and stood, letting the captain fall unceremoniously to the floor.

"They're going to attack the Capital," he said quietly to no one in particular.

"That's insane," Henyara objected, "The Capital's defended by the First _and_ Second Fleets! Gaozhan would have to be a madman to try and — "

"Gaozhan is no madman," Li Wa corrected her peremptorily, "He is a man who is obsessed with his goal, and he will do anything to achieve it. Even take risks as precipitous as this one."

"Except he's banking on surprise," Kasori growled, staring at his own hands, a mixture of resolve and just a dash of horror glistening in his eyes, "And instead, he's going to find the Southern Water Tribe ready and waiting."

Li Wa liked the sound of that.

_And now…_

She crossed over to FURISHIMA, extending him her hand, which he took gratefully.

"Well, I will be leaving now," she said blithely, "My work here is done…"

She made for the door, but she was surprised to find Kasori blocking her path, staring at her intently.

"Just a minute. I want a few words _alone_."

He was echoing the request she had made of him back on Neruse's islet. That could not be coincidence…

"Very well," she allowed. "FURISHIMA," she added, addressing her agent – he would be getting a new codename anyway – "please wait outside."

"Yes, ma'am." If he knew that she was the princess, he gave no sign; he merely skirted around her and exited the cell.

"You too, Henyara," Kasori insisted, turning to his friend. "Please," he added more softly when her eyes hardened. She glared at Li Wa for several seconds before snorting.

"Fine, sure, whatever. I'll be right outside." She left, and the cell door closed with a clang behind her.

Kasori rounded on Li Wa.

"You put yourself in a lot of danger to come here just for one man," Kasori opened neutrally.

"Who said I was only here for _one_ man?" she toyed with him.

"Because you just said that your work was done, and besides, if you were here for more, you would have brought a larger team," Kasori rejoined immediately, unamused.

"True," Li Wa allowed, "but like I told you: I do not leave my people behind. You should also know, should you doubt that again, that I do not say things that I do not mean."

"I don't doubt that, and I didn't doubt you before."

"Then why mention it? I'm still waiting for your point, _Green Eyes_," she added archly, echoing the impatience he had had with her weeks ago. His eyes narrowed just enough that she was sure he had gotten the message.

"The point is that you told me I have your respect…and you wondered if the feeling would one day be mutual. Well…now it is."

_Well isn't that sweet…_

"I detect a _but_, Green Eyes," she replied coolly.

"_But_," Kasori continued somewhat hotly, eyes narrowing further and hardening until they became exactly like emeralds, glistening in the dim firelight filtering in through the door behind him, "I do _not_ trust you."

Li Wa smiled broadly behind her mask.

"Good," she praised him quietly, "Then you are as clever as I thought."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay, so I posted this almost an hour early on Tuesday night instead of Wednesday morning - oh well. Anyway, this chapter concludes the prison arc; chapter 15, which I will post this coming Saturday, will be entitled "Zero Hour" and will provide a stepping stone into the two-part finale.

I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far - it has been a lot of fun to write. Remember to check out Ciloron's _Avatar: The Tides of Chaos_ for another great story.

Oh, and please feel free to leave reviews.


	16. BK I, Ch 15, Zero Hour

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 15: **_**Zero Hour**_

Escaping Huei Zhang had been startlingly easy: With Li Wa's firebenders distracting the Onyx Guards and retreating to the northwest, the Water Tribe had been able to evacuate via the southeast with virtual impunity.

Recuto had been right: The carrack they had brought was nowhere near enough to carry all of the prisoners. But they had planned for that, of course, and improvising boats using waterbending was a simple matter. And they were not far from where Chief Magoda was waiting with a squadron of vessels: By sunrise, they had already rendezvoused with him, and all ships were safely en route back to the South Pole.

It should have been a cause for celebration. It _was_ for most of the crewmen.

But Kasori couldn't shake a terrible sense of dread that was steadily gnawing away at his insides; Li Wa had said that they were on the cusp of war with Omashu. That in itself wasn't egregiously worrisome — the Southern Water Tribe was certainly strong enough to defeat King Gaozhan.

What was terrifying was the ferocity with which Gaozhan was proceeding through his schemes; it didn't make sense: Why risk the stability of his entire kingdom, jeopardize his very crown, all to conquer the Southern Water Tribe? Could it really be as simple as _revenge_, for the embargo, or just sheer _bloodlust?_

It stood in sharp contrast to the vulpine craftiness he had employed in duping his own sailors and secreting Water Tribe captives at a hidden prison. What kind of dangerous game was he playing?

Of more immediate relevance was the invasion: He had seen with his own eyes – well, his own mind – the plans that Gaozhan had discussed with the earthbender captain, whose name he had discovered to be Ji Chen Gren. He knew that Li Wa had spoken the truth: Omashu was going to invade the South Pole, and what he had extracted from Ji's mind indicated that the target was the Capital.

But what he hadn't discovered was the strength of the force, or more importantly, _when_ they would be launching their attack. It had to be soon, but knowing an exact date would have been immeasurably helpful. Without it, Gaozhan still had something of the element of surprise, and that could be _everything_ in war.

But it wasn't even impending war that bothered him. He was from a warrior culture, after all — warfare was in his blood, through and through.

What bothered him…was that it was his fault.

It had been _his_ idea to assault Huei Zhang Prison, _his_ idea to remove the one thing checking Gaozhan's advances in the South, a buffer that the latter himself had emplaced. With the Water Tribesmen recaptured, and nothing to guard his kingdom against retaliation, Gaozhan would _have_ to make the first move; otherwise, the Water Tribe _would_, either to alert the Earth King to his machinations, or to launch a direct attack themselves.

The die had been cast…and Kasori had been the one to cast it.

He had just sent hundreds to their deaths.

He cursed himself from where he was meditating, deep within the hold of the chief's flagship. He cursed his impetuosity, his failure to think things through. He had failed to see the immediate consequences of his actions, and now the Water Tribe had to pay the price for it.

_I'm the _Avatar! he thought furiously. _I'm supposed to be the one _preventing_ these things, not _causing _them!_

_You know better than that, Kas_, a familiar voice in his mind whispered softly.

Kasori cocked his head; his eyes were closed, but he could tell that there was no one around him; the voice had quite literally been inside his head.

_Surely you still recognize me?_ the voice teased. _It's been several weeks, but still…_

_Yuecu…_ He barely formed the word with his lips.

_Yes…come to Seghochi's Peak. I sense we should talk, and it would not do to be interrupted by one of the sailors aboard._

Seghochi's Peak was in the Spirit World — he had gone there several times in dreams as a kid, and Yuecu had instructed him there once when he was eight. It should be a simple matter to get there…

Kasori took a deep breath, calmly exhaling through his mouth and letting his thoughts fall away, dissolving into the bursts of color behind his eyelids; he lets those bursts of color carry him into their wild and shapeless embrace, thinking of nothing, feeling nothing…

In moments, the colors eddied and whirled, taking on shapes, and muffled sounds began to tease his ears; he felt a sensation as though he were emerging from deep water – a rushing, decompressing sensation – and then the sights and sounds became clear.

His eyes were open, though he had no recollection of opening them.

All around him was snow, snow and the occasional rock whose face was steep enough to avoid being covered by the white blanket. He was atop a mountain summit, with clouds wreathing around him, darting to and fro in the wake of sharp, random gusts of wind.

Avatar Yuecu was waiting for him; she had cleared away the snow from a rock to his right and was sitting atop it; she spotted him the moment he materialized in the Spirit World, and gestured for him to join her on a rock nearby. Kasori obliged, wiping away the snow before sitting down.

"It seems things have escalated since we last spoke," Yuecu observed with a small smile.

"Yeah, that's probably the right word for it," Kasori agreed much more seriously.

"This is not your fault, Kas," she said without the slightest hesitation.

"Isn't it? I'm the one who removed the one thing buffering us against total war with Omashu!"

"That _thing_ was imprisoned members of your sister tribe. And you had no way of knowing that liberating them would provoke Gaozhan to war."

"Yes, I did," Kasori argued, "I _should_ have known. It was obvious!"

"Gaozhan is unpredictable," Yuecu told him.

"Well, this situation wasn't. I should've seen it coming and prevented it."

"How?"

"I don't know! I…I could have…" Kasori trailed off; he had been trying for hours in his meditations, but he could not come up with a single way that he could have avoided this eventuality _and_ rescued the Water Tribesmen at the same time. Unless he could have somehow convinced the Earth King of what was going on at Huei Zhang Island.

"I should have told Earth King Weizin," he finally muttered, echoing his thoughts.

"Told him what? That one of his three most trusted subordinates was secretly a megalomaniac imprisoning Water Tribesmen on a secret island? Even if by some miracle he didn't laugh you out of the room, he still would have taken Gaozhan's word over yours."

"I could have proven it."

"How? You had no evidence, that's why you went to the prison in the first place. And strictly, the matter was not really any of Weizin's business: It was between Omashu and the Southern Water Tribe."

"And now there's going to be a _war_ between them," Kasori muttered.

"Perhaps," Yuecu allowed. Kasori looked at her, surprised.

"_Perhaps?_" he repeated, "How is there any question?"

"There is _always_ a question," Yuecu answered somewhat severely, "You may find that things turn out quite differently from how you expect them to now. That's what happened at Huei Zhang, after all, yes?"

He supposed that was true — but Gaozhan's reaction to the Southern Water Tribe rescuing its imprisoned comrades had been foreseeable; a way to avert a war didn't seem to be in the cards at all.

"But I _saw_ it," Kasori mumbled, "In the Onyx Guard's mind — I _saw_ Gaozhan planning the invasion!"

"Yes," Yuecu allowed again, "but sometimes the facts are misleading…or incomplete. Your actions on Huei Zhang have upset the delicate balance of power that Gaozhan has been working to establish. He was using the Water Tribe prisoners as a buffer against war with the South…because he wasn't _ready_ for such a war.

"Recapturing your brethren did remove the buffer, yes, but it did not change Gaozhan's readiness, leaving him in a severely uncomfortable position."

"That's exactly why he _has_ to attack us!" Kasori argued, "If he doesn't, it's game over! His entire scheme will fall apart once Chief Magoda alerts Weizin!"

"And Gaozhan is aware of that," Yuecu said smoothly, "That is precisely why he can do _neither_: He can neither fight a war with the Southern Water Tribe, nor afford to sit idly by."

"What other choice is there?"

"I don't know, Kasori, but you must find it," Yuecu told him seriously, "Do not look at this situation as a simple choice between two extremes: Find the middle ground. Gaozhan needs a way of either knocking out the Water Tribe _without_ fighting a war, or a way to nullify the blame for the crimes he has committed against them, in such a way that Earth King Weizin will not be able to punish him."

"How could he possibly do that?" Kasori asked, confused.

"I don't know," she repeated darkly, "but remember that Gaozhan is devious. He will find a way. In fact, I dare say he had already had one planned all along."

"Then I guess I have work to do," Kasori muttered.

"Yes…and it starts with forgiving yourself." He looked at her; her pale eyes were sad and full of compassion. "Kasori, you are the Avatar. Even with your identity secreted for now, you are still the Avatar, and destiny has a way of thrusting the Avatar into the middle of these situations.

"As such, your choices will _always_ have unexpected or unintended consequences. You cannot plan for this, cannot prevent it. You must accept it, and merely do the very best you can with every moment you are given. And do not forget that it is Gaozhan who is launching the attack — it is he on whom the blame rests. People are responsible for their own actions even if you 'force their hand.' There is _always_ a choice."

"I get that," Kasori acknowledged miserably, "but I also might have just sent hundreds of people to their deaths, Yuecu! How am I supposed to forgive myself for that?"

"Well, first of all, you cannot forgive yourself for something that has not yet happened. Second of all, death is nothing but a veil to be crossed — a gateway which is the destiny of _all_. Everyone must die eventually. And third of all, you will have to forgive yourself because if you do not, you will paralyze yourself with guilt. Conviction is one thing; guilt is another. Convict yourself, yes, but do not lade yourself with guilt. That will only make you powerless to prevent other injustices.

"You know all of this," she reminded him gently, "unlike myself: I did not understand these things when I was Avatar, and I paid a terrible price. I'll tell you about it someday. Regardless, I _can_ tell you from personal experience that you must learn to accept your errors, learn from them, and move on from them. Do not allow your past to dominate your future, or you will repeat your mistakes: Shape your future for yourself."

"Okay," Kasori assented, "I'll do my best."

Yuecu smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That is all that anyone can ever ask of you."

* * *

"The Water Tribe prisoners have escaped?" King Gaozhan repeated neutrally, staring down from his shadowy throne at Captain Ji Chen Gren.

Ji hung his head, staring at the dirt, where he belonged.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It is my fault — I failed to keep the prison secure."

"That was never your job, Captain," King Gaozhan observed, still in the same slow, flat voice, "That was Major Hao Chin's job. Your job was to extract the information I wanted from the Fire Nation spy."

"But your most unworthy servant failed there, too, Your Greatness," Ji added penitently, "The spy was recovered by firebenders! I attempted to fight them off, but one of them…she was simply too skilled for me, Your Majesty. It shames me to admit it."

"_She_…" repeated King Gaozhan thoughtfully.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The firebender extraction team was led by a woman. I think she was the leader, anyway: The other Onyx Guards – the ones that survived, that is – reported hearing her giving orders to the others."

"_She_…" King Gaozhan seemed greatly intrigued by that word; Ji did not understand where he was going with it, so he remained silent. Suddenly the king began to laugh triumphantly. Ji was completely nonplussed, so again he remained silent, staring at the ground.

"You did not fail, Captain," the king informed him with feral jubilation, "You have ascertained precisely the information I needed!"

Ji's surprise was so great that he actually raised his head.

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes, you have succeeded in indirectly affirming my suspicions."

"Suspicions, Your Majesty?"

"Never mind that for now, Captain," the king dismissed, shifting tack rapidly, "The more pressing matter is the issue with the Southern Water Tribe."

"Undoubtedly they will be gearing up for retaliatory action, Your Majesty."

"Oh, yes, undoubtedly — but fret not, Captain: I have a plan well in hand."

"You are great and wise, Mighty One," Ji lionized.

"If you truly wish to prove your worth to me, then I have a special place in my plan for you."

"It is my deepest honor to serve my king," Ji assured him strongly, "Your humble and most grateful servant will _not_ fail again!"

"I believe you," the king told him, "Now, here are your orders…"

* * *

"The information obtained at the Huei Zhang prison affirms what many of you suspected," Chief Magoda said loudly and clearly, surveying his top military officers, "King Gaozhan is preparing for a war with the Southern Water Tribe. Our actions at the prison have removed the single barrier to this war, and we have strong reason to believe that Gaozhan will accelerate his plans.

"Our intelligence officers are working on corroborating these findings and obtaining more details thereof, but until they do, we should expect Earth Kingdom warships to appear in our waters at _any time_."

The military officers did not seem surprised at all; several of them were nodding their heads gravely. Kasori was glad to see that they were prepared, because he felt off his game. Unukk, sitting next to him, looked sick to his stomach, but appeared more resolved than Kasori felt. Henyara was totally at ease, though a little more serious than usual. Recuto and the other Masters, sitting in a special corner of the room, appeared quite composed; Recuto was stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Our information," Magoda continued, "indicates that Gaozhan intends to target the Capital with his assault, and given what we know from other intelligence, it is likely that all of his forces will be dedicated to this single strike: He simply does not have the resources to launch a multifront assault.

"Invading the Capital is likely to hinge on a strategy of eliminating the Southern Water Tribe's leadership elements — including me," he added with dry humor, "It will likely be a blitz attack — rapid, no warning, and completely ruthless. Victory or defeat will pivot on whether Gaozhan can secure a beachfront: On the water, he doesn't stand a chance against us."

"Too right," Admiral Kaarunto, CO of the southern Fourth Fleet, stationed at the city of T'aqaan, chimed in confidently. The other admirals nodded in agreement.

"That said," Magoda continued, tipping his head to his officers' enthusiasm, "our first priority upon engaging the enemy should be to _prevent_ them from establishing a beachhead. If we can keep them off the ground and on the water, where we have the advantage both resource-wise and bending-wise, then we can end this battle before it starts.

"While Gaozhan will require the element of surprise in order to effectively assault our shores, it seems likely that the bulk of his attack will take place during the daylight hours, for obvious reasons." The waterbenders in the room nodded: Waterbending was more powerful at night, so Gaozhan would not expose himself unnecessarily to such a disadvantage, not right off the bat at least. "Therefore, the most likely time for the invasion to begin is just before dawn. Which means that it is all the more likely that he will attack very soon: Summer is nearly upon us, and the nights are rapidly growing shorter.

"The fleets are already in position to defend the Capital and T'aqaan on the eastern shore of Tailbone Bay. Those are our two largest cities on the coastline facing Gaozhan's kingdom. The First and Second Fleets are detailed to the Capital, and T'aqaan is defended by the Fourth Fleet. Detachments from the Third and Fifth Fleets are strategically deployed on likely water routes to attempt to intercept Gaozhan's forces before they can make landfall. The rest of our navy is being reserved.

"Meanwhile, the littoral defenses are well-established: We have waterbending barriers set up, waterborne palisades to deter ships and swimmers, and shore batteries that can preempt landing forces." That was true: Water Tribe cities were built as fortifications, and it was part of the reason for the Navy's incredible strength: The land settlements were capable of holding their own against seaborne attacks by virtue of their well-planned defenses, so the Navy was free to conduct its operations liberally on the open ocean.

"The Capital is situated against a relatively flat shoreline, so our defenses will be mostly synthetic, not topographical. Gaozhan has wide area to land his forces, so the First and Second Fleets have arrayed their forces in semicircular fashion to block off the most likely landing sites. We are working on setting up a system of scouting ships to scan the length of the shoreline for many miles in order to ensure that we can mobilize forces to counteract any unexpected landing attempts."

Well, the Water Tribe did have that advantage over the Earth Kingdom: What they lacked in numbers they made up for in mobility and speed, both of which were far more important in warfare anyway.

"The Army has dedicated two corps to defending the Capital, one at the forefront, another in reserve. Another corps plus a reserve division will be defending T'aqaan in case of secondary attacks there. And we have a third corps in reserve, prepared to mobilize rapidly against any other unexpected incursions."

That was a lot of soldiers: thousands upon thousands…

Would they really need that many, Kasori wondered. Gaozhan's armies couldn't be numbering thousands-strong after the Gaoling campaigns…could they? Even if so, could he mobilize them that quickly? And reorganize and reequip them to compensate for the losses they had already sustained in the southern Earth Kingdom?

Well, war often did come down to a race to focus superior firepower on key targets, and the more soldiers the Water Tribe had on-site, the more and more the earthbenders would have to rely on tactical and strategic ingenuity to gain even the slightest amount of ground. There was no such thing as overkill in war, after all.

Still…two corps to defend _one city_ — that was intense. Did Chief Magoda have information he wasn't sharing? Or did he share the same sense of dread that Kasori did? Did he fear that Gaozhan had far more up his sleeve than they had managed to uncover as of yet?

If so, he gave no indication: The chief of the Southern Water Tribe surveyed his officers seriously.

"This is a major threat to the security of our homeland. The Earth King cannot be of help to us, and our sister tribe is on the other side of the world. We are on our own in this fight. Let us repulse these enemies from our shores!"

The officers gave a shout of affirmation. Then, Magoda dismissed them, and they filed out of the room, rushing off to their strategic commands to begin their preparations. After all, there was no time to spare.

Chief Magoda turned to Kasori, Unukk, and Henyara, who had remained behind.

"This is going to be very dangerous," he told them rather unnecessarily, "Are you sure that you wouldn't rather be evacuated with the civilians? None of you is fifteen yet, so you're technically not counted among the warriors."

"We're not leaving, Chief," Kasori assured him.

"I don't run from fights," Henyara said sourly.

"I promised that the North would stand by its sister," Unukk added quietly, "and I meant it."

"Very well," Magoda allowed, "but I would really prefer it if you were not on the frontlines."

The three friends looked at each other.

"We can live with that," Unukk said with a small smile.

* * *

"So the Southern Water Tribe _was_ there?" Lieutenant Colonel Hirodishi asked, sounding flabbergasted.

"Yes, they were, but we were still unable to avoid using our firebending, so they aren't going to be able to take the fall for us," Li Wa answered; she was still wearing her nondescript disguise and had yet to change back into her royal regalia. "It matters little: We recovered FURISHIMA, and he has assured us that he gave up no information — not even a word."

"Are we sure that he hasn't been flipped?" the lieutenant colonel proposed cautiously. Li Wa did not begrudge the question: It was a necessary one in this business.

"I do not believe so — he would have no reason other than to avoid momentary pain, and even then, he would revert the moment he was back in our charge. His personnel file leaves nothing to be questioned about his loyalty to the Fire Nation. But of course, there is a small flag on it: We'll monitor him for a short time to be sure."

"Then your mission was a success, Princess."

"For now," Li Wa allowed, "but a successful mission that was meant to avert a catastrophe that should not have been possible in the first place is not a _success_ in my book, Colonel. Now that Gaozhan's leverage over the Southern Water Tribe is gone and there is likely to be a war between them, now that his attention is occupied elsewhere, we have work to do _internally_.

"Gaozhan had suspicions about the existence of The Vault, suspicions that we likely as not just confirmed for him. We learned this less than two weeks ago and have been scrambling to play catch-up. Now the lead is ours, and we must scrutinize every echelon of our organization, from the bottom up; I want to know _how_ and exactly _what_ Gaozhan knows about us."

"You suspect a leak, Your Majesty?"

"In an organization this sensitive, of course I do, Colonel," she replied peremptorily. "If there is one, we must seal it posthaste. If not, then Gaozhan found out about The Vault – or rumors of it – from an external source, and we need to know what that source is so that we can eliminate it just as quickly. Time is not on our side: This business between Gaozhan and the Water Tribe will not divert his attention for long, and we cannot afford to stop to catch our collective breath."

"Most of our contacts are in Taku," Hirodishi said, "I can start the external investigation there."

"And I will shepherd the internal investigation right here," Li Wa added. Hirodishi nodded; they both stood, the lieutenant colonel bowed to his princess and left, followed swiftly by her.

As Li Wa strode rapidly across The Vault's compound, even with all that was on her mind, she could not help but spare a thought for the Southern Water Tribe: What was going on there right now?

She had little doubt that they were more than ready to deal with Gaozhan's forces, and Gaozhan was certainly not stupid enough to believe otherwise, so the question was _why_ would he still be going through with it? Why launch an attack that was doomed to fail? Empty gestures didn't go very far in war.

Perhaps she had overlooked something in Gaozhan's strategic repertoire?

That was always a possibility, but it did not matter: That was the Water Tribe's problem now.

_Kasori's problem_, she added to herself.

Anyway, she had her own problems to deal with at present.

* * *

"General Xo Zhu," King Gaozhan greeted as the young, scruffy-faced general strode confidently into the throne room after being admitted, "I trust you are here to confirm the message that arrived ahead of you?"

"Indeed I am, Your Majesty," the man replied confidently, "Gaoling has fallen!"

"Good," Gaozhan muttered. Of course, he had already known that — the vis-à-vis confirmation was simply a formality. He already had a new assignment for his star general, too.

General Xo Zhu was one of the best in the Omashu Royal Army, a young military prodigy — well, perhaps that was going too far: A better description was that he had the most spunk of all of Gaozhan's generals, and had a way of making things happen through sheer force of will. His confidence – which was, arguably, excessive at times – was magnetic, and it inspired his men greatly. That was an advantage that few leaders could offer — because it wasn't learnt: It was _born_.

"I have new orders for you and your triumphant army, General Xo Zhu," King Gaozhan continued.

"By your command, Your Majesty!" the younger man cried with a rather debonair flourish of his hand and ceremonial hat, which by protocol he was required to doff in the king's presence.

"Are you aware of the situation regarding the Southern Water Tribe?"

"I've heard something of it, yes, Your Majesty. What would you have your mighty general do?"

Gaozhan smiled: "You are to lead the attack, mighty Xo Zhu."

* * *

Summer was swiftly arriving at the South Pole, and the days were stretching longer and longer. Even though he was on the opposite side of the world from home, Kasori still arose at midnight like clockwork, and finding his mind too active to go back to sleep, he left the abode in which he and the other northerners were being put up for the duration of their visit, and began to wander out onto the tundra.

It was strange: Though the moon glowed brightly on the horizon, and the sky was quite dark, he knew that it had only been so for perhaps an hour, probably less, and would soon give way to daybreak. In a few days, a week or two at most, the day would totally eclipse the night, and the sun would remain in the sky incessantly for many weeks on end.

It had already been a few weeks since Chief Magoda had laid out his battle plan for confronting the impending Earth Kingdom invasion, and all the preparations had swiftly been made. All that was left was to wait.

The clock was ticking down to zero hour, and time was running out for Gaozhan: If his attack did not come soon, he would lose the tiny window of nighttime that would afford him even the tiniest semblance of surprise.

Kasori wondered if perhaps he knew that, and therefore intended to wait until after polar day had set in completely, to throw the Water Tribe off-guard. But no, that didn't seem right: It would be sacrificing the one advantage he couldn't do without. It would be off-putting, but it wouldn't be surprising: A fleet of warships could hardly hide itself during broad daylight — and the days were _very_ bright at the South Pole, with all of the snow, ice, and water to reflect the sun's rays.

No, Gaozhan would _have_ to attack soon.

The Water Tribe was ready. _Kasori_ was ready.

What kept him up at this surreal hour, though, was something that had been in the back of his mind since he had departed from Huei Zhang but had been too concerned with the coming battle to consider properly: Li Wa.

Perhaps he had had her pegged wrong: On Neruse's islet, some two months ago, she had seemed so cold, unfeeling, and feral — well, she still seemed like all of those things, but now something was different.

She had shown compassion: He had known from what she had said back then that she cared for her people, but he had analyzed it as a detached, political concern — the duty of a princess to her subjects. But her actions on Huei Zhang – the fact that she was even _there_ – belied that: She actually, deeply, _personally_ cared about her citizens, enough to risk her own life to retrieve one from the Earth Kingdom's clutches.

He had considered that perhaps what she was risking her life for was not the man's life but his head — what he knew, the information he possessed. But that didn't make sense either: Why come herself? That would only betray the value of his secrets. No, her presence – and what she had said about never leaving her people when they needed her – bespoke something far more humane.

She had said that they – she and Kasori – were similar: Perhaps this was what she meant? Kasori knew that he, too, wouldn't leave behind his people if they needed him — he had gone to the prison for that selfsame reason.

And yet…he could not shake a mental shiver whenever he thought of the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation: What was it about her that repulsed him? He had gone through all of it logically, and he could find nothing discrete in her character that qualified. Sure, he didn't _like_ the coldness with which she conducted herself, but he could not begrudge it; he didn't _like_ her almost aquiline bellicosity, but he couldn't begrudge that either.

In the end, Li Wa was doing nothing more or less than what she thought was best for her people, and he _certainly_ couldn't begrudge that.

What was more, as the Avatar, he should _sympathize_ with her: Doing what was best for the world, no matter how uncomfortable or unpleasant, was _his job_. He knew that; he knew that he would do whatever it took to do that job, too.

So what was the difference? What was it that made him distrust her so much? So much that he could respect her, even commend her, in his mind and soul, and yet shy away from her in his heart? And if they really _were_ so similar…what did that say about him?

Kasori stopped where he was; he had walked at least a few miles out into the snow, absorbed in his cogitations; the Capital had vanished behind a ridge, and he was totally alone on the tundra.

He slowly lifted his left hand and stared at it, still lost in thought; he had clenched it into a fist at some point, and now he opened it, uncurling his fingers: A little flame, like a scarlet flower, blossomed into life in his palm, sending out waves of heat and red-orange light, and he cradled it there, staring at the first nonnative element that he had ever bent, the thing that had awakened the Avatar within him.

Fire.

Had it been coincidence that this was the element that had revealed his destiny to him? That it should be the selfsame element that this woman who vexed him so much also bent, and with such prodigious skill?

Was it really just coincidence…or was it something more…?

Kasori clenched his hand shut, snuffing out the flame; the light and heat vanished, too, replaced by darkness and cold.

Light and heat…summer and day…fire.

Dark and cold…winter and night…water.

He and Li Wa were two sides of the same coin, and yet…he still could not shake the feeling that in some fundamental way, they were as different as the two elements that typified them.

* * *

Captain Ji Chen Gren stared at the maps splayed out in front of him in his cabin aboard the dhow warship; they were covered in squiggles and drawings that delineated the maneuvers of the invasion force, from the very outset, assaulting the city shore, to the very end, capturing the city proper and securing it against counterattack.

General Xo Zhu would be leading a division of earthbenders, half of them battle-hardened veterans from the Gaoling campaign, straight into the city from the shores in a tight wedge formation, with units shearing off to strafe the flanks and arc around to form a rearguard, affording them the best chance of striking directly into the heart of the city proper with as much speed and as few losses as possible.

The fleet would attempt to knock out the Water Tribe naval defenses and subsequently secure the surrounding waters to block off any reinforcements. They would hold out as long as they could, but it was expected that their position would be compromised as little as a few hours into the invasion. Instead, the crux of the plan rested on the ground forces securing the city center and using it as a base from which to springboard further attacks.

Of course, General Xo Zhu's losses would likely be quite substantial, so that was Ji's role: He was commanding a reserve army, nearly as large as Xo Zhu's, that could breach the Water Tribe's lines once they had reestablished them and turned their backs to the ocean, focusing on the earthbenders in the city, and deploy reinforcements to assist the general.

That was the idea, anyway: Personally, Ji found the plan to be an incredibly tenuous longshot. There were so many things that could go wrong, and usually, when a battle plan was so riddled with potential pitfalls, it ended up falling apart. Plus, there was the matter of whether Ji's fleet was even powerful enough to penetrate an alerted Water Tribe line: The snow savages' Navy was nothing to be trifled with, and the first army's landing was totally dependent on surprise. The _second_ army wouldn't have that advantage.

Of course, Gaozhan had given Ji some special orders, orders that he alone, as the sole Onyx Guard tasked to this operation, was aware of. Orders that essentially constituted a final contingency: what to do if the plan failed.

It was a radical contingency, to say the least, and Ji had initially been quite surprised that his king would be willing to take such a dangerous gamble, but he supposed it was not his place to question that, and besides, the more he thought about it, the more he had to admit: It was incredibly clever.

Well, either incredibly clever or incredibly foolish.

Most ingenious plans were.

* * *

It was foggy outside — way too foggy for Chanek's taste. Personally, he preferred whopping doses of clear, vibrant Arctic sunshine. He loved the summer, when he could enjoy it whenever and wherever he wanted, but there were still some nighttime hours left, for now.

Dawn was breaking over T'aqaan, where Chanek, together with his mother, was visiting his grandmother — whom he _hated_: She was always picking at his hair, telling him to stand up straight, to not chew so loudly, nag, nag, nag…

He supposed she could be a sweet old woman when she tried, but all the same, he would be immensely glad when he was back in the Capital with his father and brothers. He had taken to early morning walks just so that he could be away from her when she performed her matutinal rituals — which were invariably as noisy and irksome as she claimed that he was to her.

Chanek had already walked several miles, at first hugging the mountains, and then up the lowermost ridges. He came to a protrusion that overlooked a wide peninsula projecting into the ocean, forming one side of the channel between the sea and Tailbone Bay.

He could barely see the ocean through the fog, but it was just visible as a sparkling line underlying the wisps of white vapor. The air was wonderfully cool, though with the annoying tickle of water droplets being eddied about by higher-altitude winds. Chanek supposed that as far as mornings went, this wasn't a bad one. He knew the South Pole well enough to tell that it would remain foggy all day.

Yep…another boring day…

Chanek paused; his eyes had just been passing over the fogbank to the northwest, over the open ocean, and something caught his attention: a bizarre, subtle but unmistakable shape in the midst of the whiteness…

_A…a ship?_ His heart skipped a beat. The entire city of T'aqaan had been alerted direct from the Capital about an incoming Earth Kingdom invasion.

But it wasn't supposed to be _here!_ What had happened to all of the intelligence indicating that the Capital was the target?

_So much for that_, Chanek thought weakly as the ship he had spotted was joined by others, materializing slowly out of the haze; the characteristic ensign of the Earth Kingdom was visible on the first one.

Chanek turned and raced back to T'aqaan.

* * *

"Captain Ji Chen Gren," the admiral of the fleet said, approaching Ji where he stood on the aft upper deck, staring out over the fog-covered ocean, "we've just received word from General Xo Zhu: He has reached Tailbone Bay and commenced operations. We are ago."

"Good," Ji replied in a thoughtful murmur, "Tell all ships to stand by."

"Understood." The admiral probably didn't like being ordered around by a mere captain — an _army_ captain, not even a _navy_ captain.

Whatever: There were more important things on Ji's mind.

The clock had hit zero: The battle for the South Pole had begun.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

So this chapter was significantly shorter than the preceding two. Don't get used to it. Chapter 16 is fairly long, and chapter 17 is almost twice as long as the average chapter length I've written so far! Anyway, this marks the end of the segue into the two-part finale. I will be posting chapter 16 on Wednesday, and chapter 17 next Saturday. Until then, enjoy, and remember to keep up with Ciloron's _Avatar: The Tides of Chaos_, too.

As always, feel free to review!


	17. Bk I, Ch 16, The Battle of the South

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay, really quickly, something I forgot to mention at the end of the previous chapter: Reader be warned, these next two chapters are a bit gorier than the others.

* * *

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 16: **_**The Battle of the South**_

By the time Chanek had reached the city again, the Earth Kingdom ships were already opening fire: Apparently, their vanguard was composed of artillery ketches – an extremely risky naval tactic – armed with long-range trebuchet-style pieces that had wasted no time in hurling humongous rocks at T'aqaan.

Of course, the Water Tribe wasn't without its defenses: There were littoral batteries entrenched in several places along the peninsula that flanked the mouth of the bay, but that was exactly where the Earth Kingdom was directing its forces: In minutes, the positions were overrun, with the Tribesmen who had manned them falling back towards secondary batteries that they would use to rake the incoming infantry. Plus, the line of ships just behind the ketches had moved into flanking positions to defend them against batteries on the opposite side of the bay.

The problem was that the Water Tribe had little in the way of formal artillery: Wood and metal weren't super common at the frigid South Pole, and what little they had went into naval resources; Water Tribe _ground_ artillery generally consisted of teams of specially trained waterbenders who worked in tandem to project huge spears of ice that served as missiles. While that strategy was effective, it also made it difficult to replace artillery once it was lost, and the Earth Kingdom blitzed the gunmen faster than they could respond, effectively securing the beach.

That wouldn't be the end of it, Chanek knew: The Water Tribe would _not_ stand for an invasion of their homeland. And T'aqaan was amply defended — Chanek had seen hundreds upon hundreds of troops pouring into the city over the past few days, setting up garrisons, command posts, kiosks for supplies, communications checkpoints, and medical stations.

There were ice palisades ringing the city and out in the ocean, too — the latter to ensure that the Earth kingdom ships couldn't easily sail much farther than the mouth of the bay, severely hampering their ability to assist the ground forces in T'aqaan and greatly lengthening the latter's supply lines. The terrestrial palisades would likely turn out to be less useful, since any earthbender worth his salt would be able to simply sink the ground beneath them or erect it in such a way as to destroy the icy spikes.

All the same, it would buy the defenders time, and time was one of the most precious allies a warring party could have.

And it didn't seem to be Chanek's ally today: Huge boulders were already raining down on the outskirts of the city by the time he reached it; he raced through the streets, breathing heavily as he weaved his way inward, several times only narrowly avoiding being crushed by incoming artillery fire.

He shot past several squads of Water Tribe warriors, who were running in the opposite direction, probably to established preliminary defensive positions at the city's edge. But he wasn't looking for them: He needed to find a command post…

And finally he found one: a large kiosk of ice tucked into the vertex of a bifurcated street. He raced through the elk skin portière and found himself confronted by a platoon of warriors, gathered around a makeshift table made of ice, on which there sat a generic map of the bay, covered in hasty scrawls and scribbles. The warriors all stared as the boy burst into their meeting.

"Earth…Kingdom…ships…" he huffed, slumping with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah, we know that, kid," the platoon leader said half gruffly, half amusedly, "Where do you think the boulders're coming from?"

"I…I counted…seven…ketches…before I…before I ran back…" Chanek panted out, irritated by the man's condescending tone. The platoon leader's smirk vanished, replaced with a look of utmost military seriousness as he turned to one of his men.

"Relay that to the higher-ups."

"Yes sir." The man swept past Chanek and out onto the street.

"Fourth Fleet is going to be converging on the enemy ships soon enough," the platoon leader continued briskly, "so the ketches are their problem. Our focus needs to be heading off the Earth Kingdom infantry _before_ they reach the city."

"There…" Chanek interrupted again, still breathless, "There're…secondary…artillery positions…halfway between…here…and the channel…"

"They'll use those pieces to push our lines back into the city from the north," one of the warriors, a squad leader by the look of him, "Give their infantry a straighter shot, a path of less resistance."

"We won't let that happen," the platoon leader said, "We'll meet up with the company commander and relay this information to him. He'll dispatch somebody to neutralize that artillery."

"I wanna come with," Chanek managed to gulp, finally catching his breath. The man looked at him weirdly.

"How old are you, boy?"

"Fifteen and a half," Chanek lied. He was _almost_ fifteen – his birthday was weeks away, not long after the summer solstice. But he was tall and buff for his age — he could fake it…

"What about your parents?"

"My mom's deep in the inner city, with my grandmother. We're visiting her here — the rest of the family lives in the Capital."

"Then I guess you can come. You a waterbender?"

Chanek, his wind fully returned, straightened up and grinned cockily.

"Sir," he chirruped, "I'm the best waterbender at the South Pole!"

* * *

"We're coming up on the rearguard of the Earth Kingdom fleet, sir," the captain advised him. Admiral Kaarunto nodded.

"And Squadron Two is also in position?"

"Yes sir — we received word by scout cutter."

"Then we will catch the devils in a pincer. Ready all ships for combat — I want those earthbenders half-drowned before they know what hit them!"

"Yes sir!" The captain darted away to relay the order to the signalers. It would take a little longer than usual to convey the message: The morning fog was thickening, and by now it had drastically cut visibility.

But that didn't matter to waterbenders: They could see through the fog, using their bending to sense their way; earthbenders had no such advantage. They would be blind. The Water Tribe would use the fog itself as a weapon — a smokescreen for their maneuvers. They would be on top of their adversary before they were even seen.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Admiral Kaarunto, himself a waterbender, sensed a serious shift in the fog, a disruption in the arrangement of water droplets…

They were closing on the Earth Kingdom vessels.

He relayed a second order through the captain: All ships stand by to fire at will.

The order was received, and barely a minute later, the Earth Kingdom fleet's rearguard materialized out of the haze. They weren't even facing towards the Water Tribe vessels.

This would be easy.

Without the slightest warning, dozens of Water Tribe ships emerged from the white mist and commenced their attack, catapults groaning as they hurled hunks of dense ice (they had decommissioned the normal stone missiles lest the earthbenders turn them against them) and ballistae twanging as they flung thick icy lances.

Of the ten Earth Kingdom ships that Kaarunto had counted initially, three were already sunk, overwhelmed by the sudden and ferocious salvo of artillery fire; two more succumbed before the remaining five even began to respond, turning sharply in order to bring their broadside weapons to bear…

It mattered little, for their maneuvers only made them larger targets, and the Water Tribe ships gave no quarter: A hail of icy projectiles bombarded the dhows, splitting their hulls wide open and shearing through their mainmasts; the ships were in close enough proximity that the resultant web of shattered wood and displaced rigging caused them all to become entangled, jamming them in vulnerable positions with their weapons useless.

The Water Tribe Navy pressed its attack, pouring an unrelenting stream of deadly ice into the wooden ships; in mere minutes, they had been utterly wrecked, what few earthbenders that had survived the onslaught hurling themselves into the ocean and attempting to swim to shore. A group of Water Tribe destroyers intercepted them, the waterbenders aboard drawing the soldiers up in a wave and washing them onto the decks, where they were summarily decapitated.

"Sir," the captain said, coming up to the admiral, "there were no artillery ketches in the rear ranks. One of our squadrons received word from the shore defenses: The Earth Kingdom's ketches are concentrated in the vanguard, and are currently bombarding T'aqaan."

"Then time is of the essence," Admiral Kaarunto replied firmly, "We must stop those ketches and attempt to head off their troop carriers."

_But first, we'll have to penetrate their center line._

No matter: They would get through.

They had every advantage in the world.

* * *

There was a thick fogbank rolling in from the east, Kasori noticed. It was quite immense: He wagered that the city of T'aqaan was probably totally deluged in the stuff.

Meanwhile, the Capital was utterly quiet: The short night had ended uneventfully, and daybreak had been very peaceful. The city was spookily still: Normally, it would have been bustling with activity by this point, with hunters and merchants and warriors all going about their business, but with most of the civilian population evacuated farther into the tundra, where there were a half dozen other major settlements to settle them until Gaozhan's invasion had passed, the city was left empty and almost sad.

Kasori was standing with Recuto, Unukk, Henyara, and Chief Magoda on a walkway that encircled one of the uppermost levels of the palace spire, overlooking the entire Capital. It was a cool, windy morning, with the sun shining harshly in the east, spilling its golden rays across the evacuated city.

Everything seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for the first strike to fall…and still it didn't. Still Gaozhan had not appeared.

"What is he waiting for?" Magoda muttered to himself, voicing the thought running through all of their heads.

"He's going to run out of night pretty soon," Unukk observed quietly, "If he doesn't make his move soon, he'll have to fight during polar day."

"Not a pleasant strategic situation," Recuto added.

"Maybe he doesn't care," Henyara mused, "Maybe he's just trying to keep us guessing. Maybe he's not even coming — just relying on us to sit here waiting for him!"

"He's coming," Kasori said softly. He knew it. Soon. There could be a fleet on its way to the Capital _right now_ —

Though that seemed unlikely: He could see from here the dozens upon dozens of ships of the combined First and Second Fleets, arrayed in a tight defensive web that Kasori doubted any Earth Kingdom fleet – even the personal fleet of the Earth King himself – could penetrate.

Of course, Gaozhan had surprised them before…

"Either way," Recuto murmured, "he should have made a move by now."

"Well, so far we haven't received word from any of the other defensive commands," Magoda pointed out. He didn't add anything, but they all knew what he meant:

_Whether we like it or not, for now, we wait_.

* * *

"Ten earthbenders, fifty meters, closing fast," one of the warriors hissed back to the others where they were concealed, behind a large, crescent-shaped cluster of boulders on a low ridge of the mountains bounding the plains leading from the bay mouth to the city.

"Twelve of us against ten of them," the platoon leader translated.

"_Thirteen_ of us," Chanek corrected sourly. He didn't like being skipped over.

"Right," the man indulged him. "All right, men, hold fast: We'll hit them all at once as they pass. On my mark…" He lifted on hand in a _stand by_ gesture.

Chanek crawled quietly through the snow, up to a crevice between the boulders, from which he could look out over the plains below him: The ten earthbenders were hugging the mountainside, running at a soldierly pace through the snow, though they were obviously unused to traveling in such a fashion; their bulky armor was impeding their progress.

In the distance, Chanek could see other groups of earthbenders in similar formation, all making a beeline straight for T'aqaan. Well, he could _sort of_ see them: The rapidly expanding fog was making seeing anything beyond ten meters or so more and more difficult.

"Hold…" the platoon leader breathed, "Hold…_go!_" He brought his hand down in an _execute_ gesture to accompany his verbal command, and as one, the warriors moved: They were not waterbenders, so they took hold of the spears they were carrying, darted up to the rocks, took aim, and hurled them.

Chanek watched, amazed by their accuracy, as the spears lanced straight through the earthbenders' necks, sliding between the shoulder plates and the helmet to pierce the pharynx. Seven of the ten earthbenders were felled immediately, but three were spared by slight errors in the flight paths of the spears intended for them, causing the weapons to ping loudly off of their armor.

Blood gushed from the downed soldiers, staining the pure white snow red, and the other three flung themselves away from the mountainside, evading follow-up attacks from the two Water Tribe warriors who still retained their spears; the others had vaulted the boulders and were sliding down into the snow, drawing swords made from sharpened whale teeth.

_My turn!_ Chanek thought. He would teach that stuck-up platoon leader to skip over _him_.

Chanek lifted his hands; the fog swirling all around them seemed to heighten his connection to the water in the snow, making it as easy as one-two-three to pile up a large wave and hurl it at the earthbenders.

One of them had just summoned up a boulder from the snowy ground; glancing sideways, he shifted his weight, bringing the large rock around to shield himself from the incoming deluge, which swept away his less fortunate comrades. A group of four warriors from the platoon split away to deal with them.

The one with the boulder hurled it at Chanek, but he erected a pressurized column of water directly beneath it, shattering the rock into tiny fragments before sending the resultant spire of water crashing back into the soldier, flooring him, only to have his throat slit by a Water Tribe warrior.

"Not bad, kid," the platoon leader admitted. Chanek grinned. The two of them climbed over the rocks and slid down to the snow. Chanek picked his way across, trying to avoid the large swaths and splotches that were stained scarlet.

"Looks like their friends aren't coming to help," remarked one of the warriors, wiping blood from his sword. He was staring westward, where indeed, the rapidly moving shapes that were other earthbender squads were totally ignoring their fallen comrades and instead hurrying towards T'aqaan.

"They're in an awful hurry to get to the city," the platoon leader observed.

"Sounds like they aren't stopping either," another warrior noticed. He was right, Chanek realized: To either side of them, there was the occasional sound of rumbling earth, roaring water, and clanging bone on metal. But the sounds were nowhere near as intense as would be expected for a raging battle: They were more like isolated skirmishes.

"They're ignoring our preliminary defenses," the platoon leader decided, "Trying to push straight into the city before we can consolidate our defenses there. Flanking units are probably circling around to provide rearguard."

"So what do we do?" Chanek asked worriedly.

"We keep doing our job: The company commander gave us strict orders to neutralize the mobile artillery they're using to shell the city from the land. The others are the city defenders' problem."

"I'm going back," Chanek announced. The platoon leader looked at him curiously.

"Oh? I thought you wanted to come with us."

"My family's back in that city!" Chanek protested, "I have to make sure they're okay!"

"You didn't seem so concerned before…" the man observed neutrally.

"That's because I didn't know that these guys were gonna go barreling into the city like this!" he retorted angrily, using a sweeping gesture to indicate the rushing tide of earthbenders barely fifty meters away, scarcely visible at all in the fog. The man smirked.

"All right, kid. Go check on your family. We'll carry on here."

Chanek darted off into the mist.

* * *

Getting through the center line of ships was much slower going than dispatching the rearguard: Here, Admiral Kaarunto did not have the advantage of bringing the full power of his fleet to bear, since the bay channel was too narrow to admit all of his ships at once. Plus, there were many more vessels in the center guard than there had been bringing up the tail of the fleet.

But no matter: The Water Tribe Navy, even in a one-to-one fight, far eclipsed its Earth Kingdom counterpart. Though their ships were taking some damage, they were dishing back out ten times what they were receiving, and they had the enormous advantage of being able to bring the power of the ocean to bear against their enemies: Specially deployed skiffs filled with waterbenders were weaving through the larger, less nimble vessels, employing bending to scuttle Earth Kingdom ships, repair holes in Water Tribe ones with plugs of ice, and intercept Earth Kingdom missiles before they could reach their targets.

All in all, this was a slow but inexorably one-sided battle: The Earth Kingdom dhows sank one by one, their survivors, which were few, scooped up by Water Tribe corvettes and swiftly killed. The dhows' artillery pieces were more suited for bombardment and striking slow-moving craft than for hunting the agile Water Tribe ships, so for each salvo, their accuracy never seemed to climb much higher than sixty or seventy percent. And that was without considering the intervening presence of the waterbenders in the skiffs.

The center guard had been arranged in an oblong block, with three or four staggered rows of ships; as Admiral Kaarunto and his fleet pushed their way through the middle of the block, passing into the mouth of the bay, he spotted several other ships lining the eastern coast: troop transports.

He swore to himself. They were too late: From the looks of things, the earthbenders had already deployed the vast majority – if not the totality – of their army.

_Well, it looks like it's a land game now._

But that didn't mean that he couldn't – and wouldn't – wreck the rest of the Earth Kingdom fleet. That would pin them between the Water Tribe's Navy to the rear and the Army to the front.

Admiral Kaarunto would _enjoy_ the rest of this fight.

* * *

Chanek zipped through the fog on a sled of ice, waterbending it along at impressive but admittedly dangerous speed towards T'aqaan; he wondered why he had been so thoughtless as to not use this technique before — he could have warned the city faster about the impending attack. Oh well — he guessed he had panicked a bit.

Either way, it wasn't long before he reached the city, and when he dismounted his ride and looked around, everything seemed quiet: Aside from the occasional _thump_ of artillery landing to the southwest, there was no sign of earthbenders anywhere.

But he couldn't stop: He raced off through the streets, looking for a command post so that he could pass off word of the earthbenders' apparent strategy to the higher-ups. The Water Tribe would have to consolidate its defenses further in order to repulse the targeted Earth Kingdom attack.

It didn't take him too long to find a kiosk: In the short time he had been away from the city, the front-linemen had significantly bolstered the military presence on the city outskirts. He raced into the kiosk, not as winded as he had been when he had done the same thing not long ago, finding himself staring at an entire company.

"What are you doing here, kid?" the company commander, a captain, asked him, "Shouldn't you be in the inner city?"

"Earthbenders," Chanek blurted out, "They're on their way here! Fast! They're ignoring the outlying defenses and charging straight for the city center! They'll be here in minutes!"

"You sure, kid?"

"Yes sir — I saw it myself, along with one of the forward platoons!"

"Then spread the word," the captain barked to one of his men, who nodded and raced out of the kiosk. The captain turned his attention back to Chanek. "You should go, too, kid. Run south, get somewhere safe, behind the lines. Things are gonna get ugly here really soon."

Chanek puffed himself up angrily.

"I'm fifteen, Captain," he assured the man hotly, "I want to _fight!_" The captain stared at him, his expression unreadable. After a minute's contemplation, he shook his head, an amused smile on his lips.

"You're not fifteen. Go home, kid."

Chanek was about to reply when suddenly the roof of the kiosk collapsed with a massive burst of sound; a cavalcade of large boulders rained down into the command post, crushing the company of warriors; their screams and the sickening sounds of their bodies being pressed violently into the snowy ground, the hiss of snow being hurled up into the air, and the rumbling booms of the boulders' landings filled the air.

Chanek tripped over backward as the earth shook from the force of the attack, and the captain, still with that amused grin on his face, fell beneath a huge rock, his skull popped by pressure, spattering Chanek's entire front with blood; it got in his eyes, nose, and mouth, adding a terrible metallic tang to the wet air, and he shut his eyes tight as they stung fiercely from the intrusion.

He tripped again and felt a block of ice, formerly part of the wall, fall on top of him, shoving him down face-first under the bloodstained snow.

* * *

"Captain, General Xo Zhu reports that the attack is going well: His forward lines have penetrated the city's outer defensive perimeter."

Captain Ji Chen Gren folded his hands thoughtfully and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling of his cabin. Well, that was to be expected: Even the most doomed operations often had their initial flickers of hope. Personally, Ji thought that Xo Zhu was far too arrogant, naïve, and utterly outmatched to have even the slightest hope of victory.

But Gaozhan had given him orders to follow in case the worst should happen, so Ji was not worried.

Everything seemed to be going as Gaozhan had planned.

* * *

Fourth Fleet finally broke the center line: The remaining Earth Kingdom vessels, barely treading water, scattered away, some running afoul of the shredded hulks of the troop carriers and sinking themselves on the remains of their own ships; the Water Tribe Navy burst forward into Tailbone Bay, where just inside, they found seven artillery ketches firing away at the city of T'aqaan.

"All forward ships, prioritize the ketches and fire at will. Signal the rear squadrons to form a perimeter at the entrance of the bay," Admiral Kaarunto relayed to his captain, who in turn conveyed the orders to the artillerymen aboard the flagship and to the signalers.

In moments, the forward ships began firing on the ketches, which were either powerless to fight back or totally committed to their standing bombardment orders: They did not reply, or even attempt to move out of the line of fire, and they were quickly sunk into the ocean.

_So much for the Earth Kingdom "fleet"…_

It had hardly qualified as a fleet — more like target practice…

With the remaining earthbender vessels in total disarray, and the Water Tribe ships mopping them up one by one, Admiral Kaarunto ordered them all into standby, guarding the mouth of the bay.

There was little if anything that they could do for the ground forces at this point: Attempting to bombard the Earth Kingdom army was too dangerous — by now they were already too intermixed with the Water Tribe's own forces, so friendly fire was far too great a risk.

_It's all up to the Army now_, the admiral mused.

* * *

Chanek could barely move: He had managed to combine a forceful exhale with waterbending, disintegrating the snow beneath his face and creating a pocket of air from which he could breathe for now.

He supposed that he should be thankful for the snow, though: Without its cushioning embrace, the block of ice that pinned him down now would probably have crushed him. Even so, his entire body ached, and he couldn't move anything.

Well, he could wiggle his toes inside his boots. He found that out. Then he tried wiggling his fingers — that worked, too.

Other blocks of ice from the kiosk wall had collapsed on top of the first, forming a heap under which he was buried, spared from the pressure only by the thick snow beneath him. Luckily it was a cold summer this year…

_Focus, Chanek — you've gotta get outta here._

That was certainly a priority: He could hear earthbenders shouting out to each other nearby; they were sweeping for survivors. Another stroke of luck — their attack had churned up so much snow that it had melded with the fog and covered everything in a thick white blanket of vapor. Chanek was virtually invisible.

But not for long: If they did their due diligence, they would find him eventually. Sure, he was a kid, but they had had no qualms about violently crushing two dozen warriors a few moments ago, so who knew what they would do to him.

_I'm not gonna find out!_ he resolved.

Okay, first priority: air. He had to breathe after all…

He waited until the voices of the Earth Kingdom soldiers had faded away a bit, suggesting that they were far off, before turning his head sideways with great effort, taking a deep breath from his little air pocket, and blowing hard, sending the snow shooting out in a stream of liquid water, clearing a little trough to the surface.

That would suffice for now — all he needed was an opening to let oxygen circulate freely. Now then, next priority…

Could he move? It was hard to tell: With the pressure of the wall fragments atop him, he was unsure whether his immobility was from that or from something more insidious…like a broken spine.

_That_ was a scary thought…

_Calm down, Chanek!_ he chided himself. _Don't act like your baby brother! Think…_

Well, after all, he could move his fingers and toes, so his spine couldn't have been completely ruined.

Nothing else _felt_ broken, and with a little work, he found that he could move his wrist and ankle joints; it was hard to tell with his entire body buried in snow, but it seemed that his extremities were not underneath the ice blocks.

That was another problem: frostbite. He was a southerner, so he was certainly used to the cold, but being buried under snow and ice was a different matter: If he didn't get out of here fast, he could risk losing fingers… (His toes were warm in his boots, but he wasn't wearing gloves since it was summer.)

_Okay, Chanek, you can move your hands and feet — what about arms and legs?_

He tried: His legs were unresponsive, but he could feel them straining to lift the weight above them, so he definitely wasn't paralyzed. Maybe they were under the ice after all…

Or…they could be broken. He couldn't tell.

_Focus! Arms next…_

He tried his arms and had better luck: They rose up several inches, and a sudden sensation of coolness on his hands indicated that they had breached the surface of the snow; he brought them back down quickly, lest a passing earthbender see them.

The voices were nearer but less hurried: They appeared to be setting up some kind of command post here. _Great — just what I need…_

At least they weren't too close: From what he remembered of the layout of the street before the kiosk had collapsed, they sounded like they were in an alley behind a building to the southeast. With all of the debris and fog around, that should be far enough for him to extricate himself and turn the tables.

He would make them pay for what they did to those warriors…

Well, with his arms free, he could at least do _something_: Moving slowly, carefully, and wincing at the pain that shot through his body with even the slightest twitch, Chanek twisted his hands in gentle circles, closing his eyes and — what was it that Master Recuto called it? Feeling the water…

He could feel it: the compacted solidified water that impressed him into the snow; he felt it bend to his will, liquefying slowly but steadily and trickling away in sizeable rivulets onto the ground. He was careful to keep the water from hitting the snow too close to him, lest it dissolve it and remove the cushion that was still keeping him from being crushed.

In the banged up shape he was in, it took a few minutes, but he finally removed the last of the ice blocks, feeling their immense weight lifting off of him bit by bit. He lay in the snow a few minutes more, winded from the effort, trying to catch his breath — but he had to move quickly: With the debris gone, he had no cover and was totally exposed. The only thing protecting him from discovery was the soup-like fog.

After his heart stopped racing and his breathing returned to normal, Chanek tried moving his legs again, and to his immense relief, they lifted out of the snow; no pain shot through them — well, any more than usual for having half a building fall on them. He didn't think they were broken. That was good, because he had never learned anything about healing during his training, so if they _had_ been broken, he would have found himself in a very nasty situation.

Chanek contracted his arms and legs slowly and with great effort through the snow, drawing his knees and elbows to his chest and adopting a sort of fetal position; he pushed, raising himself up onto all fours, where he remained for a minute, his arms wobbling violently…before vomiting into the snow.

He hadn't felt it coming, but aside from the horrible taste in his mouth and the droplets of the stuff that had spattered onto his hands, he felt a little better for it; his arms stopped shaking after a moment, so he slowly rose to his feet. Part of the kiosk wall was still standing, shielding him from view from the southeast, so he leaned against it, taking deep, slightly painful breaths. Though he didn't feel as weak now, his hands were trembling for some reason: He clenched them into tight fists to make them stop.

_C'mon, Chanek, get it together! You won't be much good against those earthbenders in this condition!_

That was the understatement of the day: In his state, he couldn't fight off his baby brother. Not in a contest of strength, anyway…what was it that Master Recuto was always telling him so pointedly?

_Fight smarter, not harder_.

Yeah…that nerdy advice might pay off this time! After all, his mind still seemed to be in perfect shape, even if his body wasn't. He could outwit the earthbenders.

Of course, his mind was also telling him that fighting them at all was a bad idea, when he could simply just run – well, stagger – in the opposite direction. He would have to find a medical kiosk eventually, anyway — he doubted that he had truly made it through a building collapse totally unscathed.

But no. He wasn't concussed – at least, other than the vomiting, he had no symptoms of it – his strength was returning – his hands had stopped shaking – and his mind was totally clear: He would avenge the warriors who had died here today…

…or he would die himself trying.

Chanek took several deep breaths and stood straight, no longer letting the wall support him; he staggered just a little but quickly steadied himself; he turned and drew his hand across the wall, bending some of its ice as liquid water into his mouth. He was tempted to swallow immediately, but instead he swirled it around, cleaning out the taste of vomit before swallowing and repeating the process.

After several draughts, he felt much better and looked around: There were no signs that anyone other than he had survived the attack, and the snow to his left was buried under an enormous pile of rock and ice, the periphery of which was encircled by a moat of thick red blood. To his right, the wall was only partly collapsed, and he had a view through the crevices of the street outside, though it was difficult to see anything through the thick fog.

The earthbenders' voices had not stopped: Now that he had a visual bearing on his surroundings, he could definitely tell that they were in the alley to the southeast.

_Okay, Chanek, you can do this. Nice and slow._

Chanek walked outside the kiosk, turning right and following the edge of what was left of its wall to the corner of the building, where he paused to rest a bit; each movement sent a dull, aching pain through his body, but it was fading with each passing second; he took a minute to recover his strength and continued on along the length of the building, pausing about half of the way down and listening carefully.

He could just barely discern the corner ahead, which opened to the alley; the fog would keep him effectively invisible to anyone standing there. He could still hear the earthbenders, much more clearly now, though one's voice sounded very strange — muffled, as though there were a layered obstruction between him and Chanek, an obstruction not present for the others…

This was no time to take risks.

_Fight smarter, not harder_.

Chanek sat down in lotus position, closing his eyes and opening himself to the water around him. Master Recuto had been trying to teach him to be one with the water for a long time, but he had never really _gotten_ it; he could bend it, sure, feel its motions, its eddies and swirls, its pushes and pulls, but he had never really understood what the Master had meant by being _one_ with it.

But that had never stopped him before: He wasn't very good at it, but the water yielded to his probe, giving him a hazy but definite mental image of the surrounding area. The fog helped — he probably would not have been able to maintain the picture without it.

Either way, he could "see" the earthbenders – five of them – in the alley — well, four were in the alley: One was in the building proper, whose wall abutting the alley had partially caved in. That explained the muffling of his voice: It was obstructed by the building's northern wall, where Chanek sat now.

Chanek inhaled and exhaled, focusing as hard as he could, trying to render the image behind his eyelids a bit clearer…

He could see the inner layout of the building: It was a residence of some sort, with a couple of different compartments; there was a door on the northern wall that opened to an entryway that split left and right, leading to portières acting as portals to two different areas separated by a partition of packed snow.

_Well, that's a start_, Chanek thought; he opened his eyes, stood up, and faced the wall: The door was only a few feet away. He walked over to it and opened it very carefully, deciding to leave it open behind him, allowing the fog to seep in; he turned left and followed the corridor down to the portière, where he paused to listen.

The earthbenders had stopped talking, but he could hear the one inside the building shuffling around in the snow. The question was how to get him alone…

Chanek took a few steps back, turned, and kicked the snow on the floor, hard, sending a cloud of the stuff spraying up into the air with just enough noise to be conspicuous. He heard the earthbender beyond the portière murmur, "Huh?" followed by footsteps as the man came to investigate the noise.

Chanek pressed his back against the inner wall, bending the snow so that he sank into the wall and it covered his entire body except for his eyes, allowing him to observe while being unobserved. Moments later, the portière swished open, and an Earth Kingdom soldier, unarmed, stepped through, looking around the hall with eyes narrowed; he spotted the upturned snow where Chanek had kicked the ground, as well as the latter's footprints leading inward from the outside. He spotted the open door and moved towards it.

He never got there: As the soldier passed, Chanek sprang out from the wall, clotheslining him in the throat and sweeping out his leg with a kick; the man hit the snow hard, spluttering in a doomed attempt to breathe, and Chanek followed him down, bending his arm at the elbow and driving the blade of his forearm straight into the Earth Kingdom soldier's larynx.

He could feel the bone collapse beneath his weight, and he stared into the man's eyes as the light slowly flickered out of them. When the soldier stopped struggling, Chanek rolled off of him and stood up.

That was the first time he had ever killed anyone; he stared at the body for a moment until a sound from beyond the portière caused him to start: It was one of the other four soldiers; he had heard the commotion and, judging from his footsteps, was on his way to investigate.

Chanek moved quickly, bending the snow on the ground to cover the body of the dead soldier, reducing him to a slight bump in the otherwise pristine white blanket, and then camouflaged himself anew against the wall.

Just in time, too: Seconds later, another earthbender stepped through the portière and eyed the hallway suspiciously. In covering the first soldier's body, Chanek had also smoothed out the snow he had kicked earlier, as well as effaced his footprints. The only remaining signs that something was amiss were the lump in the snow that betrayed the earthbender's corpse and the open door leading to the street.

The soldier took a few steps down the hall and paused, still looking around; his eyes passed over Chanek, but the latter closed his eyes as the former raked him with his gaze, and the soldier did not appear to spot him. Instead, he opened his mouth and called out:

"Bao Zhin! Where'd you go? C'mon, we gotta get in touch with command and then move out! Bao Zhin!" He took a few more steps down the hall…and his boot connected with something hard and metallic: his dead comrade's helmet, buried beneath the snow. "What the…?" The man bent down to investigate, brushing away some of the snow and revealing a glossy surface of metal.

Chanek didn't know whether the man recognized what that single patch of metal meant, and he didn't wait to find out: He dropped his snowy cloak and bent some of it into a small, highly compressed water blade; with a swiping motion, he sent it lancing through the man's neck.

The earthbender collapsed, one hand jumping futilely to his neck to attempt to stem the violent outflow of blood, but it was in vain; in seconds, he had fallen inert, a pool of red liquid already forming around him.

Chanek had been caught by the initial spurt, with a streak of blood coating his left shoulder and spattering his left cheek. With one hand, he wiped some of the blood from his face and stared at it, sitting in scarlet globules on his fingers, shimmering almost beautifully in the fog-tinted sunlight.

Just like that, a life was gone.

Chanek shivered a bit and cleaned his hand off in the snow before turning and approaching the portière. He listened a moment, but there didn't seem to be anyone coming to investigate the second earthbender's sudden silence, so he opened the portière and stepped through quietly.

The room beyond was a cooking and living space, with a large hearth at the far end and a few supplies – hunting spears, sewing equipment, and the like – off to the right, hugging the wall. A little less than halfway down, the left-hand wall was perforated by an irregular gap, which he had sensed earlier, and through which the fog had already penetrated considerably.

Chanek could just barely hear the stifled mutterings of the other three earthbenders through that hole, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He crept up to the wall, bending the snow beneath his boots so that it would not sink audibly under him and betray his presence, and then placed his hand to the wall.

_Okay, Chanek, you did this once before, you can do it one more time. Focus…_

He closed his eyes and opened himself to the water around him again. It still took a massive effort, and this time he wasn't in a meditative posture, but he didn't have very far to sense, so it worked out okay:

He could detect the three soldiers beyond the wall, two of them sitting on earthen pedestals they had erected, and the third leaning against the wall of the opposite building; there was no way he could resolve the image anywhere near clearly enough to examine their expressions, to see if they were suspicious of their comrades' absences, but it didn't matter.

He could take them out all at once.

Chanek stepped back slowly, keeping his hand on the wall and his eyes closed, extending his arm almost all the way; he took a deep breath and gave the wall a rapid one-two punch sequence, transferring the energy of each strike into propelling a bolt of water from the opposite side of the wall.

The first bolt shot straight through the first seated soldier's right eye, and a disturbance in the fog told Chanek that it had sent out a spurt of blood in its wake. The second bolt was off: It pinged off of the second seated soldier's armor, angling away and striking the soldier who was leaning against the opposite wall, between the gauntlet and upper-arm guard of his right arm.

Chanek swore to himself and fired off two more water blades, managing to catch the second guard in the throat as he turned to gape at the body of his suddenly dead comrade across from him; the second bolt missed again, though, as the earthbender who had been struck in the arm sprang sideways, stamped down into a solid stance, and wrenched a large rock from the snow.

Chanek opened his eyes and dived away from the wall as the rock came crashing through, spraying him with snow as he landed on his side a few feet away; he had intended to launch into a shoulder roll and come back up on his feet, but apparently his body wasn't totally recovered from the beating it had taken earlier: The impact winded him, sent a jolt of pain through his thoracic cavity, and left him inert on the floor for a moment.

The earthbender came charging in through the newly enlarged breach in the wall, looking furious at the sudden deaths of his two compatriots, and spotted Chanek struggling to rise to his feet; he brought down his foot, summoning up another boulder and then hurling it straight at Chanek.

Chanek reacted the first way he could think of: He lifted his hand and bent the snow surrounding him into a whirling dome of compressed water; it was rotating around him with such force that the boulder actually deflected midair, destroying the wall separating the room from the entrance hallway.

_Whaddya know! It actually worked!_ He had hated learning this – what was it called…? – _water shield_ technique when he was up at the North Pole — it was too much focus, not enough _oomph_.

But it was working (and in his condition, _oomph_ just wasn't something he could bring to bear): As long as he kept his mind on the water, he could keep it spinning around him, and the earthbender could – and did – keep chucking boulders at him to no avail. They simply kept bouncing off.

He had no idea why he had selected this particular technique from his repertoire, but _it was working_.

Chanek rose carefully from the ground, setting his arms wide in a more traditional waterbending form, most of his effort going into maintaining his water shield. _Well, I can't just sit here knocking away boulders all day_. Sooner or later he would lose focus, his shield would break, and he would be in a lot of trouble very fast.

_Okay, time to move…_ The moment the next boulder had pinged off of the water shield, Chanek let it collapse, stepping sideways to avoid a follow-up boulder, and turning into a simple form, streaming his erstwhile shield into a forceful hose straight at the earthbender's chest; the man erected a slab of rock to attempt to block it, but the water was too strong: It simply bore straight through, forcing the earthbender to jump away.

He used his landing to send a ripple through the ground, knocking Chanek off-balance and sending him to the floor and driving the breath from his lungs for a second time; before he could recover, the earthbender had pounced on top of him, pinning his legs and clamping down on his throat, causing Chanek to seize his hands with his own to try and pry the man off of his windpipe.

He couldn't keep that up for long: He simply didn't have the physical strength to do it. He couldn't move or focus enough to bend — he could barely breathe as it was.

But there was a teaching given to all Water Tribe warriors: _If you can breathe, you can fight!_

_I am _not_ going to die today!_ Chanek decided fiercely; he released one hand and seized the earthbender's head, gritting his teeth and sinking his thumb into the man's eyeball.

It was an incredibly bizarre feeling: that of an eye literally collapsing beneath even a marginal amount of pressure, wet and hot as blood starting pouring from the socket. The earthbender screamed in his face, and his grip on Chanek's throat loosened, just enough for Chanek to push against his head, rolling him sideways so that he could reverse the mount.

Now Chanek was on top, and the earthbender tried to reciprocate the wound he had been given by jabbing at his eye, but Chanek saw it coming, seized his hand mid-jab, and wrenched one of the fingers violently out of position, hearing – and feeling – it crack in his grip.

The man's screams redoubled until Chanek dropped an elbow straight into the soldier's nose, breaking that, too, and following up with a punch to the throat, collapsing the man's windpipe completely.

Chanek stayed on top of him, pinning his arms down as his final struggles faded away and the light left his eyes; then he stood up, breathing hard.

Why was he breathing hard? He had no idea — everything had happened so fast that he hadn't been able to keep track of himself. He noticed that his hands and face were covered in blood — he could taste it seeping into his mouth; the stuff totally coated his fingers, and his thumb had a glob of…something on it that undoubtedly had come from the inside of the dead soldier's eyeball.

Chanek felt like he was going to vomit for the second time in the last hour, but he swallowed the urge and proceeded to walk away from the body and wash his hands and face in the snow.

When he finished, he suddenly had a thought and paused to listen carefully: nothing.

Just silence.

No artillery fire.

The Earth Kingdom's bombardment had ceased.

Chanek smiled for a split second, but his relief was quickly tempered by a solemn realization: _Now the _real_ battle starts._

* * *

Kasori, Unukk, Henyara, Recuto, and Magoda had remained atop the palace spire all day, but nothing had changed: As noon arrived and began to pass, the Capital remained sleepy, still, and safe beneath the summer sun. Nothing in the slightest was out of the ordinary.

What could possibly be taking Gaozhan so long? What was he up to? Kasori had the feeling that they were missing something, that they had overlooked some crucial detail…

He wracked his brains, trying to summon up every single minutia of what he had learnt from the earthbender Ji's mind, but it was of no use: There was no cryptic clue in there that might tell him why Gaozhan seemed to be late to his own party.

The invasion _had_ to be coming soon: Tonight would be one of the last before polar day set in completely, and there would be no darkness at the South Pole for several weeks.

He wasn't sure why they were still standing up here, though: It seemed highly unlikely that Gaozhan would attack _now_, at midday, so there was little need to sit up in this spire, watching the sea.

Even as he was having the thought, someone came out onto the balcony through the door that led into the interior of the palace and handed Chief Magoda a scroll. The chief opened and read it, and suddenly his eyes went wide.

"What is it, Chief?" Kasori asked; Henyara, too, had spotted the abrupt change in Magoda's expression and had stood from where she had been lying, making doodles in the snow. Unukk and Recuto's attention soon followed.

The chief looked up from the scroll.

"The invasion began this morning at dawn."

"What?" Henyara yelped, "Where?"

"T'aqaan."

"What?" Kasori asked, feeling as though his insides had suddenly been scooped out, "I thought that they were going to attack here, at the Capital? That's what I saw in Ji's mind!"

"It must've been a ploy," Unukk concluded quietly, "Gaozhan set the whole thing up."

"How could he have known that we would be at the prison and be able to extract that information from the earthbender?" Henyara asked skeptically.

"It doesn't matter how he knew," Recuto interrupted, "Right now, all that matters is our response. We can sort out the _how_ later."

"Master Recuto is right," Magoda said calmly, rolling up the scroll, "I need to contact the reserve forces near T'aqaan and deploy them to the city to assist the local defenders. We will make sure that these Earth Kingdom cowards rue the day they attacked Water Tribe lands."

"The rest of us will go to T'aqaan," Kasori said resolutely, "and try and assist the forces there as best we can until the reinforcements arrive."

"Good idea," Unukk said; Recuto nodded.

"Count me in," added Henyara.

The five of them raced back into the spire and scrambled down to the ground level, Magoda splitting from the group as the four waterbenders headed towards the eastern edge of the city.

As they ran, Kasori couldn't help but curse himself over and over and over again: It was _his_ fault that they had been sitting and watching the Capital, twiddling their thumbs while the Earth Kingdom army attacked T'aqaan. Why had he believed what he had seen in Ji's head?

Why? He had underestimated Gaozhan's cunning, that was why. He hadn't imagined that Gaozhan could _possibly_ have constructed a ploy that insidious —

Or was it just sheer dumb luck? Had Gaozhan just changed his plans at the last minute due to some logistical fluke? It was impossible to tell.

Either way, Kasori could not shake the horrible feeling in his gut that the blood of all who had died in the intervening ten hours or so…was on his head.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

And so ends part one of the Book I finale. Part two (entitled "Blood and Water") will go up this coming Saturday. It stands at nearly twice the length of an average chapter so far, so be ready for a longer read!

Also, Ciloron will be posting a very significant chapter of his _Avatar: The Tides of Chaos_ on that same day, so be sure to catch that as well!

As always (not sure why I keep saying it), feel free to review.


	18. Bk I, Ch 17, Blood and Water

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book I: **_**Lessons**_

**Chapter 17: **_**Blood and Water**_

Night fell on T'aqaan. The moon rose above the horizon for a few short hours, and in that time, the waterbenders defending the city, enriched by its power, managed to drive back the Earth Kingdom army, halving the ground that they had gained during the day.

But the earthbenders were not to be so easily defeated: They dug their heals into the snow and held on, and the fighting ground to a vicious standstill within an hour of the counterattack, with the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom forces locked in an exchange of ferociously bloody skirmishes, neither side wanting to commit its resources to a full-scale assault, and both looking to recuperate for what promised to be another full day of war on the morrow.

Chanek, for one, was glad for the relative quietude: no earthbenders popping up out of the fog, nearly decapitating him with huge rocks, no more slitting people's throats with water blades, no more blood, no more screams — just the peacefulness of night. Even the fog had dissipated with the rising moon.

Well, it wasn't totally peaceful: The sounds of battle could still be heard occasionally as skirmishes flickered into life and passed away with equal abruptness; and the shadows still held the potential to conceal death and danger around every corner.

But at least no one was trying to kill him every five minutes, which had been going on _all day_.

Chanek was exhausted. He could barely put one foot in front of another as he finally stumbled into a medical kiosk. A healer helped him to a bed, where she began to assess his wounds.

He supposed it was ironic that just that morning he had been lamenting on how much he loved the sun and how he would hate the few remaining hours of nighttime, and now he was thankful for the darkness that had allowed at least some measure of pause to come upon the battle. It was equally ironic that now that the moon had risen, and he could feel his bending enriched by its power, he couldn't use it: He was stuck in a hospital bed.

Well, the bed wasn't so bad…

Before he could even think about how soft it felt, he had fallen fast asleep.

* * *

Kasori stared at the ice sword in his hand, so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even register his reflection in its perfectly smooth surface as Recuto brought them through the home stretch to T'aqaan on a rapidly-moving disk of ice.

The moon was rising, and he could feel its energy coursing through his blood, tingling in his fingertips, waiting to be used — it wasn't a full moon, no, but it was good enough, good enough for the waterbenders of T'aqaan to turn the tides…whatever the tides were.

The message that they had received apprising them of the situation had contained little more than an acknowledgement of the invasion: They had no update eon the strategic situation, or what kinds of casualties had been incurred. No matter how hard he tried, Kasori could not help wondering how many had already died…

…and how many would die in the future.

Like it or not, this was war, and the first rule of war was that people died. The second rule was that there was no exception to the first.

And Kasori was a warrior. That meant that he would have to participate, even though he wouldn't turn fifteen for another few weeks, near the winter solstice back up north.

Tonight and tomorrow, people would die by his hand — the sword he held now would soon enough be stained red with blood.

He didn't have a problem with that _per se_. He had been born and raised in the Water Tribe, a warrior culture, a people totally familiar with death and bloodshed. And these Earth Kingdom soldiers were invading the home of his brothers, his sister tribe.

But he wasn't _just_ a Water Tribesman, was he? No, he was the Avatar, too. What did _that_ mean for him? He knew that he wouldn't be the first Avatar to take a life, and he certainly wouldn't end up being the last, but precedent wasn't enough for him: Was it right for him, as the Avatar, to take another's life? His job was to preserve balance and peace, and could he reconcile that to killing earthbenders, even if it was to protect his home?

There _was_ another option, he supposed…he could reveal himself.

If he did that, it was quite possible that the earthbenders would just turn and leave — out of fear or reverence or something else that he really didn't care about. It was the result that mattered, and revealing his identity in some spectacular way might just be enough to stop this battle in its tracks.

But…could he do it? He had kept this secret for so long, he wasn't sure that he knew how to bring it out into the open. The most obvious course of action would be to engage the Avatar State and broker truce by force, and that would certainly get the point across, but could he actually do it was the real question.

He had been working with Yuecu on and off for nearly a year on controlling the Avatar State, but it had been _his_ choice to take things slowly, to learn to gradually familiarize himself with the State's power so that when he finally _did_ take it as his own, it would feel natural and comfortable — and most importantly, it would be _controlled_.

But he didn't know if he could control it at this point. And if he _lost_ control…

Kasori shuddered to think of what might happen. He couldn't take that chance.

He stared at the ice sword, actually seeing it for the first time in several minutes.

He had crafted this sword when he had been eleven years old, as a project Master Nanuk had given him to challenge himself. To most, it would probably have seemed like a simple task — just freeze some water in the shape of a sword. But no, this wasn't just some slipshod blade he had made in a few seconds. He had spent _hours_ constructing it, making sure the weight was evenly distributing, that the water was condensed and packed just right into the ice, that the blade was perfectly even and so sharp that it could cut through solid iron with incredible ease.

Kasori considered it more of a work of art than a simple tool. Strangely, he had never contemplated actually using this sword to attack anyone, though he had used it – after blunting the blade – in sparring practices with some other waterbenders.

But it looked like tonight, this crystal-clear, blue-white blade would be stained scarlet.

* * *

They arrived in T'aqaan without incident. It turned out that the defending forces were far more organized than they had feared, and the soldiers they passed on their way to a command post seemed to be perfectly calm and collected as they went about their duties.

When they reached the command post – nothing more than a small kiosk of ice with several entrances, through which messengers were streaming in and out – they were under the impression that the battle was actually well in hand, and perhaps the city wouldn't even require the reinforcements that Magoda was deploying to its aid.

The CP commander – a captain, according to his armor – looked up as they entered: He spotted the sashes that all of them but Henyara wore, and laid down the map that he had been holding, approached, and bowed respectfully.

"Sirs, what may I do for you?"

"We have a message for you, Captain," Master Recuto told him, "Chief Magoda has received word of T'aqaan's situation and is presently dispatching reinforcements. They should be here in the morning."

"That is excellent news, sir," the captain replied, "for from all appearances, the earthbenders are being pushed back already. Their initial attack caught us off-guard, but with the moon, we retrenched their gains and have settled into a stalemate for now. However, word has arrived from the Fourth Fleet indicating that the Earth Kingdom Navy has been totally obliterated. Their ground forces are alone."

"Then it is only a matter of time," Recuto analyzed, "before we have them with their backs completely up against the wall."

"That will only make them all the more dangerous," Unukk cautioned, "so we'll have to be careful."

"How can we be of use to you, Captain?" Kasori asked. The captain thought a minute before replying:

"The right wing of the earthbender army penetrated the farthest into the city: Its front line is not far from here. About a half mile behind the line, there's a large command post that's acting as a supply cache, disbursing matériel to a large portion of the front. We take out that CP, and the earthbenders' lines will collapse a good distance."

"Then that's our target," Unukk said.

"We'll need directions, Captain," Recuto said.

"Right away, sir."

* * *

"Captain, we have received word that General Xo Zhu's fleet has been destroyed!"

Captain Ji Chen Gren, for his part, did not move from where he was sitting, leaning back in his chair with his feet up on his desk. He had been deep in thought, and didn't appreciate the constant interruptions from this admiral who really was fretting over nothing.

"Of course it has, you simpleton," Ji replied quietly. He had known well in advance that Xo Zhu's fleet would never have been able to withstand the power of the Water Tribe Navy.

"But, Captain, shouldn't we — ?"

"No, we shouldn't," Ji cut across him calmly, "There is no cause for alarm. So far, everything is happening within predicted parameters. There is nothing for us to do unless we receive word that the general's _ground_ forces are on the verge of annihilation. Be patient, Admiral."

"Yes, Captain," the man growled, undoubtedly not liking being ordered around by an army captain; he turned and left Ji's cabin.

_Finally, some _quiet.

Of course, he hadn't told the impertinent admiral that it was also within predicted parameters that General Xo Zhu should fail. King Gaozhan had assured Ji that that was the most likely outcome of the operation. That was where Ji's special orders came in…

But it was too early to be thinking about that. Xo Zhu still had something of a chance: If he managed to take the city center before the Water Tribe kicked its full army into gear and localized reinforcements to the city, T'aqaan might actually fall to the Earth Kingdom, though Ji doubted it. The Water Tribe would _never_ allow one of their cities to remain under occupation for long, and Xo Zhu simply did not have the resources – personnel _or_ matériel – to withstand the kind of reprisal that would be brought to bear against him.

No, it seemed almost certain that Ji would have to execute the special orders he had been given. That wouldn't be fun…

* * *

"There's the CP," whispered one member of the Water Tribe scouting party, directing Kasori, Recuto, Unukk, and Henyara's attention to a site about fifty meters to the west from where they were perched atop a building's roof.

It certainly looked like a major frontline command post: It was a large, palisaded area with a cluster of buildings in the center, at least some of which likely held the supplies that the CP disbursed to the Earth Kingdom troops. Speaking of troops, there were dozens of them milling around, moving crates and weapons and relaying messages. All the structures were made of stone, bent out of the earth.

"Pretty heavily populated," Master Recuto observed. There were only four of them, plus the five-man scouting party. Nine Water Tribe warriors against an entire company? Didn't seem like a good idea…

But they had to take this CP out: It was supplying a huge portion of the right-wing front line, where most of the fighting – and the dying – was occurring. If they could eliminate it, the earthbenders could be dealt a significant blow, and this battle would be one step closer to being ended.

_ So_, Kasori thought, _the question is this: What's the best way to take this thing out and not get slaughtered in the process?_

Well, the fastest way would be to slaughter the earthbenders first. But could he do that? He was the Avatar — he wasn't supposed to go around slaughtering people!

_This is war_, he reminded himself: The rules changed in war…or did they? Wasn't he supposed to be neutral in wars? But how could he be neutral? These were his brothers and sisters, his people! They were being unjustly attacked by a bloodthirsty tyrannical king!

And he wasn't _just_ the Avatar: He was a Water Tribesman. _But isn't the second supposed to be subordinate to the first?_

He supposed that was true…but nothing in his Avatar "job description" dictated that he couldn't get involved. He was supposed to make peace, right? Well, in war, peace only came by the sword. Negotiation, compromise — those were ideals, and they rarely worked in real war. Ultimately, war was won or lost – and peace bought – in blood, not words.

And since being the Avatar didn't conflict with his involvement, his priorities defaulted to those of a Water Tribesman, right? That meant he had a _duty_ to stop the earthbenders.

_Hmm…maybe that's stretching things a bit…_ Then again, maybe not.

Regardless, he could not simply do nothing. He had to help his sister tribe, to defend them against this unjust assault on their homes.

He remembered that innocent people had very likely died in the initial attack, and his blood ran hot for a moment.

In the end, he finally decided, these earthbenders were soldiers: They had elected to serve and lay their lives on the line in war. And what was the number one rule of war? _People die…_

"I'll handle it," he said aloud, in a calm, quiet voice. The others looked at him, surprised.

"Sir?" asked the scout leader.

"What are you saying, Kas?" asked Master Recuto.

"I'm saying that I'll take care of the command post."

"By yourself?" asked Unukk, sounding worried.

"Yes."

"Are you crazy?" Henyara asked him quite unworriedly.

"No, I'm not," Kasori replied tranquilly, "but these earthbenders need to know something: What they're doing here, in this city, is despicable. They shouldn't be here. And they need to understand the price of what they've done."

Silence met those words. It was cold, he knew, but justice _was_ cold. It didn't care about excuses or equivocations: It was as cold and as sharp as the ice sword he carried with him.

The others seemed to perceive that too, though he couldn't read some of their faces, particularly Unukk's, which surprised him: Unukk was usually an open book to him.

"Are you sure that you want to do it by yourself, though, Kas?" Recuto asked him. His voice was inscrutable.

"Yes, Master Recuto. I feel like this is something I _have_ to do myself." Well, that much was true: If he was going to make this choice, it had to be on his head alone.

"I say let him go for it," Henyara suggested with a shrug.

"Whatever you say, sir," the scout leader said, though he seemed less sure.

Kasori nodded and returned his attention to the CP: He had to make sure that however he did this, it conveyed a message to the Earth Kingdom command.

He lifted one hand and closed his eyes, drinking in the cold night air and feeling the energy of the moonlight flowing through him; often, the feeling was intoxicating, but not this time: This time, the work he had to do was too solemn for that.

He steeled himself for the death and destruction to come…and then opened his eyes: Immediately, the snow inside the command post's palisade erupted with violent force, hurling earthbenders into the air; they screamed and were abruptly silenced as the cloud of snow became a cloud of ice, flecks of ice so small and sharp that they bore through the tiniest apertures in the soldiers' armor, piercing skin and bone and tissue before shooting out the other end.

The white cloud turned red as the soldiers dropped to the ground, dead, shredded nearly to ribbons by the vicious onslaught, and Kasori brought the column of blood and water crashing back down and surging outward with explosive power, bringing down the stone buildings and shredding the palisades that encircled the CP.

When he lowered his hand, nothing remained of the Earth Kingdom position but a sea of blood and water, riddled with chunks of rock and the mauled bodies of earthbenders.

Quick and simple.

Kasori didn't look the others in the eye; he could feel their gazes on him.

"Well, that was bloody," Henyara finally remarked; her usual sarcasm wasn't present: She was quite serious.

"I know," Kasori replied, "but these soldiers are invading our homes. Who knows how many civilians died in the initial attack? And for what? Conquest! Nothing but greed."

"You didn't have to turn them into pincushions."

"No," Unukk intervened, suddenly vehement, his blue eyes hard and icy, "Kasori's right." Kasori stared at him in surprise: Meek, gentle-spirited Unukk was the last person he had been expecting to defend him.

"That's weird coming from you," Henyara observed snidely.

"Kasori's right," Unukk repeated seriously, "Our entire way of life is being threatened here, our very existence! We can't turn a blind eye to that. This calls for very serious action. Besides, isn't it more merciful for them to die all at once like that, quickly and probably painlessly?"

"And this way, the danger to the Water Tribe is minimized," Recuto observed.

"I suppose you've got a point there," Henyara admitted with a shrug, as though she didn't care one way or the other, "but it still wasn't a pretty sight."

"War isn't pretty," Unukk said darkly.

_Neither is justice_, Kasori thought. Justice was often bloody and gruesome. What was that old saying in Qulecke? He had read it in a book about the history of the Northern Water Tribe legal system…

_Uru ivang ivagoo huruil, gekee s'iq siq'oo huruil_. That was it: _As water flows into water, so too does blood flow into blood._

* * *

Chanek's eyes fluttered open; the kiosk was dimly lit with lamps interspersed among the beds, casting long shadows all over the icy walls, which reflected the meager firelight eerily. The sounds of battle could just barely be heard in the distance all around them, scattered and quick: One moment, a fight would erupt, and then all would be silent again, only to be replaced by another a few instants later.

Chanek looked around, wondering what had awoken him, since he was usually a very heavy sleeper. It didn't take long to spot the problem: The healers had gathered around the entrance to the kiosk in a wide crescent, their arms spread in a defensive posture. Between them and over their heads, Chanek could discern the armor of earthbenders.

_Oh, great…_

"…facilities are off-limits, all three militarized nations signed a treaty!" the chief healer was saying vehemently, "You would be committing a war crime!"

"We're just here following orders, lady," one of the earthbenders replied. Chanek's eyes went wide as he saw a spear suddenly emerge from the chief healer's back, blood pouring out around it.

_He attacked a healer? That's supposed to be against the rules…_

_Get with the program, Chanek!_ he chided himself, _These guys aren't playing by the rules!_

The other healers had scattered; they had no combative training, and most of them were elderly women, so they tried to get their patients out of harm's way, but they were cut off by the earthbenders, who began to cut them down one by one.

Chanek sat up carefully; he couldn't just let them do this! He was still weak, but anger was energy, and it drove him to his feet. He staggered towards the earthbenders, who were so occupied with their slaughter that they didn't notice.

_Only five of them_, he counted. _I took care of five while I was banged up before, I can do it again_.

He had to: The other patients were either out cold or too injured to resist. He had a feeling that if these soldiers were willing to murder medical personnel, then they certainly wouldn't think twice about hacking up some "prisoners."

Two of the earthbenders were near him, chasing down a group of six healers; they were at least merciful enough to refrain from bending, preferring to do the deed with the spears they carried. Well, that would be their downfall.

Chanek paused and took a stance in a little spot where the shadows were especially thick. His chest hurt, and his legs felt like jelly, but he stood steady. _Focus, Chanek. You've got to save these healers!_ He gave himself a mental smack upside the head and began moving his hands, streaming a moderate amount of water from the snow beneath him.

With a forceful gesture, he sent the stream rocketing through the air, splitting it in two as it went; one half shot straight into one of the earthbenders' eyes, freezing and boring through his brain, dropping him instantly to the ground, dead; the other stream caught his companion in the throat. Chanek coiled the water tightly around his windpipe and squeezed.

There was no way he was physically strong enough in his condition to apply the kind of pressure necessary to crush a person's larynx, but with waterbending, it was as easy as a flick of the wrist: The second earthbender fell dead where he stood. The healers, shocked by what had happened, nevertheless reacted quickly, like trained medical professionals in the midst of crisis:

Three of them went to try and heal the chief, who was still lying in front of the doorway, bleeding into the snow and curled up in a fetal position, clutching at her gut, which was glowing slightly as she actually attempted to heal herself; and the other three raced over to Chanek to try and help him.

He waved them off and staggered forward, determined to get rid of the other three earthbenders, who had just caught and disemboweled another of the healers.

Chanek flung a water blade at one, catching him in the back of the neck, but not deep enough to sever the spine; the man's hand jumped to the wound and he yowled in pain, turning around angrily, just to receive a second water blade straight to the throat.

Blood poured from the slash as his body dropped to the snow; his cry had attracted the attention of his comrades, and one of them drew back his spear and let it fly, straight at Chanek, who managed to intercept it with a water whip, deflecting it harmlessly into the snow.

The movement upset his balance, though, and he was barely able to fire off another water blade at the earthbender before tripping and falling to the ground; he landed on his side and, despite the softness of the snow, felt a jolt of pain that drove the breath from his lungs. He clutched at his flank and could feel a broken rib.

He didn't have time to think about it; he rolled sideways as a boulder hurtled towards him, crashing into the snow, with which Chanek coated himself, freezing it into armor and rising to his feet; he skated along the surface of the snow towards the earthbenders, who launched attacks at him simultaneously; he swerved around the rocks, praying that they wouldn't hit one of the healers or patients behind him, and reached one of the soldiers in a few seconds, throwing a punch.

The ice coating his fist was hard enough that the weak blow shattered the man's nose, sending him reeling back, eyes watering; his comrade couldn't use his earthbending with Chanek in such close proximity, so he darted forward instead, bearing his spear.

Chanek let him attempt to drive it through the icy armor to pierce his heart…only to watch its point snap against the tough ice; then he seized the broken shaft and used it as leverage to launch an armored kick into the man's groin, turning into the kick and ducking under the spear shaft to slide down the length of his arm and place it into a lock.

Chanek let his entire weight drop onto the earthbender, driving him down face-first into the snow; he looked up to see his partner, blood spewing from his nose, approaching with a spear of his own, but suddenly a small blast of water hit his face and froze solid, covering his eyes and nose.

The man gasped from the sudden attack, dropping his spear in surprise as, to Chanek's shock, one of the healers, a young woman, tackled him to the ground.

_Focus on what _you're_ doing, dummy!_ he growled to himself. _There's time to look at girls later!_ He shoved the earthbender's head harder into the ground with one hand while he bent the snow up into his mouth and nose with the other, drowning the man beneath him. He struggled profusely for about a minute, but then his resistance subsided, and Chanek stood up.

The last earthbender had managed to throw the healer to the ground, but the ice still covered his face; he was clawing at it, trying to remove it so that he could regain his vision; Chanek melted his ice armor, drew it into a stream, and hurled it at the man's chest, freezing it into a lance that bore straight through his breastplate and pierce his heart.

The earthbender fell to the snow, dead, and the healer he had been tussling with scrambled to her feet and raced over to Chanek, who, now that the fight was over, was swaying dangerously; he fell sideways, exhausted by the effort it had taken to repel the earthbenders, and the healer caught him in her arms. He was surprised by her strength.

Chanek blinked; his vision was swimming and took a moment to refocus; when it did, he found himself staring at a beautiful young girl with round, deep blue eyes and long dark hair.

"Wow, you're pretty," he muttered; some vaguely active part of his mind told him that that was probably inappropriate to say so abruptly, but he didn't care: Total enervation had removed any filter on his mouth.

The healer started, turned deep red, and then smiled.

"Easy now," she said archly, "Just because you saved us doesn't mean you get to put the moves on us!"

Chanek laughed; he hadn't been expecting such a sassy remark from so demure-looking a girl, especially not a healer who had just narrowly escaped being gutted on an earthbender's spear and who had just witnessed the deaths of several of her friends.

But laughing hurt his broken rib, and his eyes watered in pain; he coughed violently and clamped his mouth shut, trying to choke back a yowl.

Another healer came and helped the girl carry him back to his bed, where they laid him down; the others were already busy moving about, checking the patients, clearing away the earthbenders' bodies, and tending to their dead and wounded friends.

The beautiful girl stayed with him, drawing up a stream of water and placing it, together with her soft hand, gently against his side. Even through his clothes, her touch was electric.

Chanek stared at her, smiling like a goofy kid, until exhaustion took over and he finally fell asleep.

* * *

The Water Tribe warriors were badly outnumbered: The earthbenders were flooding them from the north in three groups attacking in coordinated wedge formations, bringing all their might to bear. The Water Tribe soldiers defending the forward observation post had been all but annihilated — Yaroqar was the only one left; thankfully, a passing patrol had come to his aid, so he wasn't totally alone.

But it still didn't look good: The earthbenders had the advantage four to one, and it looked to be only a matter of time before they overran the Water Tribesmen: For each one Yaroqar cut down with his whale-tooth sword, two more arose, seemingly out of the very snow beneath his boots, attacking with spears and boulders summoned by bending.

The patrolmen were waterbenders, and were coordinating their efforts to keep the earthbending attacks at bay, while some of their comrades focused on defending them from spear attacks, but it just wasn't working: They weren't good enough to hold off this many earthbenders.

Yaroqar deflected a spear thrust from one and brought his sword up through the man's neck, ducking the spurt of blood and darting past the body as it fell, drawing a bladed boomerang from his belt and hurling it towards another earthbender who was threatening one of the waterbenders ahead; the projectile whirled through the air and caught the earthbender across the neck, cutting deep enough to send a jet of blood across the snow; the man's hand leaped for the wound, but it was too deep: He was dying before Yaroqar's eyes.

Yaroqar caught the boomerang on its return, but it was suddenly jettisoned from his hand as a powerful blow struck the side of his head; he toppled into the snow, rolling over to face whatever had attacked him, little lights popping in front of his eyes, his bone sword held limp in his hand…

His assailant – and earthbender armed with a wickedly sharp glaive – stood over him, his weapon poised to land the final blow.

_Looks like this is it…_

Just as Yaroqar braced himself to feel the metal of the glaive sinking into his flesh, something shot by, blindingly fast, hissing as though skating on the snow, directly behind the earthbender; a scintillating flash of blue-white lanced through the night air, and the man's eyes went wide; Yaroqar saw blood spatter from the back of his neck.

The glaive fell uselessly into the snow, and the earthbender keeled over, dead, his spine cleanly severed; Yaroqar looked over, dumbfounded, and, if possibly, was even more surprised by what he saw: a boy, dark hair whipping from the speed of his movements, stood a few meters away, glaring at the earthbenders who were still engaged with the Water Tribesmen. There was a sword of solid, glittering ice in the boy's left hand; its blade was stained crimson with blood.

Without a word, the boy lifted his hand, and the snow before him eructed in a powerful blast that scattered a half a dozen earthbenders in its wake, and then he skated off into the crowd of battlers, ice sword whirling so fast that it was nothing but a sparkling blur, followed everywhere it went by bursts of crimson.

But the weirdest thing that Yaroqar noticed about the boy was his eyes.

They were _green_ — green as emeralds, and they blazed like fire.

* * *

_Kas's really unstoppable tonight_, Unukk thought as he sent an earthbender scurrying away with a water whip; he, Kasori, Henyara, and Recuto had broken away from the scouting party they had been accompanying to reinforce this observation post, which they had received word was under attack. And Kasori was mowing down earthbenders left and right, that sword of his almost totally reddened with blood.

Unukk had never seen him use the sword in a real fight before: He had always relied totally on waterbending or hand-to-hand combat. And he had never seen Kasori kill before, either. But here he was, taking lives one by one in rapid succession, like some sort of reaper of souls.

It wasn't unsurprising, he supposed: This was a battle, and Unukk had killed a few people tonight, too; after all, these soldiers were invading their _homes_, the places where they lived, laughed, ate, cried, grew up, had families, and were buried once they passed on — where they had done so for centuries upon centuries.

But somehow, Unukk thought there was something else behind Kasori's eyes as he struck down earthbender after earthbender, something fiery.

Unukk didn't like it: He was used to Kasori being the calm one, the one who never lost control, and while his friend didn't seem _out_ of control yet – on the contrary, he was totally measured and almost cold as he fought – he had a nasty feeling that there was a storm raging beneath that glassy surface, just waiting to break out.

_Focus, Unukk — worry later_, he told himself. He concentrated on helping Henyara combat a trio of earthbenders, while Recuto fought five by himself. The Earth Kingdom soldiers were doing their best, but they were simply outmatched: One by one they fell, skewered by ice spears or smashed by powerful water whips; they were driven back farther and farther, until only a few remained to stand against the now rallied waterbenders.

Then, as Unukk and Henyara were about to finish them off, out of nowhere Kasori fell upon them like a whirlwind, and suddenly Unukk couldn't see them as the snow churned up around them, obscuring them behind a wall of white powder; there was a great deal of noise, the sound of blades clashing, the characteristic sound of a sword cleaving flesh, the sound of bodies dropping with dull, feathery _thumps_ into the snow — and then the veil cleared, and Kasori stepped out.

His entire face was spattered with blood, and he was cleaning great gobs of the stuff off of his sword; his clothes were drenched in it, and behind him, as the snow settled, were at least a dozen bodies, all bleeding profusely, none moving, some missing a head or an arm, which was invariably lying a few feet away.

"You okay, Kas?" Henyara asked worriedly, looking him over. Kasori walked up to them and sheathed his sword, which he had finished cleaning; the smell of blood on him was overwhelming, and Unukk had to fight the urge to vomit. Every so often that odor would send a jolt of nausea through him so potent that he could barely breathe.

Unukk had something of a soft stomach when it came to bloodshed, even though he was a warrior. He had always been that way.

Kas looked at them curiously, as though he didn't understand why they were worried about him.

"Yeah, fine," he said finally, perplexed by the question. His voice was totally calm, as though he hadn't just slaughtered a dozen earthbenders in a few seconds. "Is everyone else all right? What about the other tribesmen?"

Unukk looked over his shoulder: The waterbenders who had been defending the outpost, plus one nonbender who looked as though he had left his mind elsewhere and was gazing around, benumbed by the carnage, were milling about, tending to wounded, cradling fallen comrades, and trying to salvage what they could from the ruined outpost. One of them was kicking one of the earthbender corpses in a blind rage, sputtering something about the man having killed his friend.

"They look like they could be better," Henyara muttered, "but they're alive."

"Impressive bladework, Master Kasori," Master Recuto said, trotting up to them, "I didn't know you knew how to handle a sword."

"Yeah…just something I picked up…" Kas replied quietly; his eyes were cloudy, and he seemed lost in thought.

"Kas?" Unukk asked him tentatively, "You sure you're okay?" Kasori looked at him.

"Yeah, Unukk, I'm good. Why?"

"You seem…distant."

"Guess I just got absorbed in the moment."

"Did I hear your name was Kasori?" came a voice; it was the nonbender — he held a whale-tooth sword in his hand. He was staring at Kas with a bizarre look on his face.

"Uh, yeah…" Kasori mumbled, taken aback, greeting the man's gaze.

"I'm Yaroqar — I…" Yaroqar trailed off; he still had that benumbed, not-quite-there look that Unukk had seen on him a few moments ago.

"Are you okay, soldier?" Henyara asked him.

"Uh…yes, yes! Perfectly fine — ha! Alive, in fact! I…I wanted to tell you…thank you, Kasori." Kasori stared back confusedly. "You saved my life back there — I was about to be impaled by that earthbender — the one with the glaive — and you swooshed in and stopped him, so…thanks!"

"Sure thing, Yaroqar," Kasori said slowly, still off-put; his eyes flitted to a wound on the man's side: a cut from a stray spear thrust. "Here, let me heal that…" Without another word, Kasori drew up a small stream of water from the snow and began to heal the injury. When he finished, he withdrew his hand and gave the dazed soldier a small smile.

"Th-Thanks again!" Yaroqar stammered, obviously surprised that Kasori was a healer as well as a warrior.

"Don't mention it."

"Why would the earthbenders attack here in such force?" Henyara asked, breaking into the awkward silence that followed, "This is just a forward observation post, right? Nothing strategically major."

"No, nothing," Yaroqar replied, shaking his head as if to get water out of his ears; when he resumed, he seemed much more sober: "We had just received intel on the Earth Kingdom's apparent strategy — or at least, their temporary strategy, until full-scale battle resumes.

"They're dispatching small, concentrated forces to attack key targets all along the front, trying to keep us guessing at where and when they'll strike next. They always hit their marks in full force, obliterate the defenses, and then leave just as quickly. They don't give us time to track them down and organize an effective resistance."

"They're trying to keep us scrambling on defense," Unukk surmised, "It neutralizes the advantage of the night and buys time for their main army to regroup for a second assault on the inner portions of the city."

"Then we need to find some way to disrupt their operations," Kasori concluded firmly, "Take the fight to them and hit them right where it hurts."

"Bingo," Unukk agreed, "If we can deal them a strong enough blow, it'll put _them_ on the defensive and maybe allow us to knock them out of the fight before they can regain a strong footing."

"That would certainly be preferable to another full-scale battle," Recuto muttered.

"All we need is a target," Unukk said, "Somewhere where a defeat would be critically damaging to their war machine."

"I think I know the place," Yaroqar piped up excitedly, "There's a warehouse behind earthbender lines, on the docks, where intel suggests they're relaying matériel and communications to half the front! A command center, essentially, probably highly fortified."

"Are we strong enough to take out something that heavily defended?" Henyara asked dubiously, looking around at their little ragtag group.

"We can do it," Kasori assured her; Unukk was surprised by the cold hardness in his voice.

"All right then, whatever you say," Henyara shrugged.

"Can you direct us to the warehouse?" Unukk asked Yaroqar.

"I'll show you the way myself."

* * *

"So what's your name?" Chanek asked the pretty healer who was tending to him. She smiled sheepishly at his question and remained silent a few seconds as she finished healing his broken rib.

"It's Kanira," she finally answered.

"I like that name," he told her immediately. The girl giggled demurely and continued with her work, passing healing water over his head; she had told him that while he didn't have a concussion, his head had taken a serious beating from the building collapse. Additionally, the broken rib he had sustained had done a number on his lung, and it would take some time for that to heal.

But he didn't really hear the words: He was too busy staring at her beautiful face.

"You know," he interrupted her, as she was in the middle of telling him to be very careful not to bang his head into anything, "I think I really like you." He supposed that it was an odd thing to say, but the blush that came over her face told him that she understood exactly what he meant.

"No, you don't," she replied gently, removing the water from his head and applying an herbal salve – a rarity in the polar regions where so few herbs were available – to a bandage.

Chanek thought that an odder thing to say.

"What do you mean? I do too like you," he told her, confused. She returned his confusion with a gentle, compassionate smile.

"No, Chanek, you don't. You've just formed an emotional bond with your caretaker. Perfectly normal, but _temporary_. You don't _really_ like me. You just think you do."

"What's the difference?" he asked. She touched his arm gently with her hand.

"The difference," she replied softly, "is that in a few weeks, you'll have no idea why you felt this way at all about me. It'll pass. It always does." There was a small note of sadness in her voice.

"Has that happened to you before?" Chanek asked her gently. She didn't reply immediately, but her eyes answered for her; she seemed to be debating whether it would be professional to share that information with her patient.

"Yes," she finally answered shortly, carefully wrapping the bandage around his head and then smoothing out his hair.

"I'm sorry," Chanek mumbled to her. She really was pretty; it had to be hard working day after day with people who formed temporary attachments to her…and then just dropped those attachments days or weeks later.

Plus, he could tell just by the few minutes he had been spending with her that she was the type to pour her entire heart and soul into her work — he bet that she remembered every name of every patient she had ever treated. It couldn't be easy forming that deep a bond with her patients to have them forget her virtually overnight.

"I really do think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Chanek added honestly. He had never told a girl that before — he'd said a lot of other charming things, but that one had never seemed to make the list.

Kanira stared at him, taken aback; and then she smiled for real.

"Thank you, Chanek. You really are a sweet boy."

Chanek grinned. Normally, he would have found being called _sweet_ to be emasculating…but from this girl, it was the most gratifying thing anyone had ever said to him.

* * *

"There it is," Yaroqar whispered, pointing at the warehouse: It abutted the blackish waters of Tailbone Bay, and was nestled against the foot of a rather large, steep hill upon which the Water Tribe warriors were perched.

Kasori wondered why the earthbenders hadn't fortified this hill, considering it provided a strong vantage point over one of their most important bases. They had encountered no resistance slipping behind the enemy's lines and making their way here, and Kasori found it odd that such a significant position would be so ill defended.

But he supposed that the bulk of their forces was needed on the front, holding the lines and ensuring that the current stalemate wouldn't swing violently in the Water Tribe's favor. They were walking a razor's edge, strategically, and now it would cost them.

They had raided an Earth Kingdom command post on the way, and had managed to confirm there that this warehouse indeed acted as an important node in the Earth Kingdom's supply and communication network. With it gone, half of their front would begin to collapse.

The only question was how to do it: Counting Yaroqar, who still looked a little worse for wear, they numbered only five, against undoubtedly dozens of earthbenders. Kasori was confident that they had the _ability_ — it was the _tactics_ that were in question. How exactly were they going to proceed…?

"I don't see any defenders…" Unukk muttered.

"They're probably all inside, trying to keep a low profile," Henyara suggested. That made sense, Kasori supposed: With so few exterior defenses, particularly on this hill, having men stationed outside would be a dead giveaway. Keeping them in would at least provide a semblance of discretion…

"That warehouse is huge," Yaroqar observed worriedly, "There've gotta be dozens of earthbenders inside — how're we gonna take it out?"

"Well," Henyara remarked dryly, "the whole building _is_ made of snow. We could just bend it down on top of them."

"A whole building?" Yaroqar asked.

"It's not as hard as it sounds," Henyara assured him.

"And with the ocean so close by," Master Recuto added, "we could collapse the building with a tidal wave. At the very least, it will disorient them."

"And besides," Unukk appended, "our objective is to destroy the _base_, not kill everyone inside. It's the supplies and infrastructure we're interested in, not the personnel."

"Still though," Kasori interjected, "if we leave anyone behind, they could simply rebuild the place. We need to make sure that they can't do that, or this whole thing'll be in vain."

Unukk looked somewhat alarmed by the suggestion of such bloodshed, but Henyara immediately agreed:

"He's right. No quarter."

"I thought that was against the rules," Unukk said.

"Actually," Master Recuto answered him wryly, "that clause of the treaty was never agreed upon."

"Then what're we waiting for?" Kasori asked, "Let's do this quick, before someone spots us." The other three waterbenders nodded, and they all four stood in a line, taking identical stances and starting to move their arms in conjunction, with Yaroqar off to the side, watching fascinatedly: The waters of the ocean, two hundred meters away and dozens of meters below, began to roil and froth under their influence.

Almost without warning, a massive wave erupted out of the sea, the churned waters arising as a wall that rushed inward from the bay towards the shore; by the time the water reached the warehouse, it was several meters taller than it: The black wave crashed into the building made of snow, which began to disintegrate before its advance, adding more and more water to the deluge, and in seconds, the entire warehouse had collapsed into a massive flood.

From this distance, Kasori could just barely spot dozens of earthbenders being swept away, and whatever waterlogged screams they likely emitted were lost to the cruel night air.

Together, the waterbenders pushed their hands forward, and the enormous amount of water rose up again and rocketed away from the shore, whisking the soldiers out into the cold reaches of Tailbone Bay. There they would either drown or struggle their way back to shore. It was of no concern to the waterbenders. Some of them were likely already dead from the immense weight of the water that had fallen atop of them.

"Wow," Yaroqar pronounced.

"Well, that was pretty easy," Henyara remarked.

"We're not done," Kasori said. They looked at him. "We need to check for survivors."

"He's got a point," Unukk allowed darkly, "The longer this base stays out of commission, the better, and any survivors will just hasten its reconstruction."

"Then let's get going," Henyara said briskly.

"You should come too, Yaroqar," Kasori added to the nonbender, "We'll need all the help we can get."

"You got it."

The five Water Tribe warriors raced down the steep hill towards the wreckage of the warehouse, which was little more than a jagged heap of snow only a few meters high, from where thicker chunks of the walls had not disintegrated into the wave before the latter was pushed back out to sea.

When they reached the ruins, it was already obvious that very few people could have survived the attack: There were large piles of splintered wood where crates of supplies had been utterly demolished by the flood; there were even twisted arrays of metal where canisters had been crushed and dashed against each other, and against rocks that the earthbenders had erected for whatever reason and most of which had also been reduced to rubble.

Nevertheless, the five warriors fanned out and began sweeping the area, checking for any signs of life: movement, limbs sticking out of the snow, sounds of a struggle…

Kasori walked for at least two or three minutes without seeing anything that remotely smacked of survivors…until he came to the southeastern corner of the ruins, where he suspected the wave had been weakest: As he approached, he heard the groaning of someone attempting to lift a heavy load, and, following the sound, he spotted an earthbender – whose armor indicated that he was just a private – straining to push a large pile of wood off of him.

From the look of things, the man had been standing near a pile of crates that had been smashed and flung on top of him, burying him beneath debris that had kept him from being swept out into the bay; looking more closely, Kasori saw a sizeable pool of blood near where the man's legs lay covered by wood. He supposed that his legs had either been crushed by the combined weight of water and detritus, or been shredded by the sharp fragments of wood. Either way, this man would exsanguinate if he were left where he lay.

The earthbender's struggle with the debris consumed his focus: He did not even notice Kasori until the latter was a few feet from him.

His eyes went wide, and he began to plead with him, begging him to help him.

Begging…like a scared child.

Kasori had to pity him. He was young, too — not much older than Kasori himself. He had probably only signed up for the army a few months ago, maybe a year or two at most, and he certainly hadn't signed up for a war at the South Pole.

This was someone's child. Someone would be agonized to learn of his death.

Kasori drew his sword.

How could he help it? War was ugly, and it was no place for compassion to cloud judgment. That would get him killed, and then what use would he be to anyone? Soldiers all signed up to be willing to lay down their lives in battle; it was just part of the job.

_Rule number one of war: People die._

_Rule number two: There are no exceptions to rule number one._

With one stroke, Kasori slit open the young soldier's exposed carotid artery: Blood shot upward in a scarlet geyser, and the light swiftly drained from the earthbender's eyes as his life slipped away.

Kasori cleaned the blood from his sword and sheathed it, then noticing that some of the crimson fluid had sprayed his cheek in a fine mist; he wiped it off with one hand and then stared at it, watching red rivulets run down his fingers and drip into the snow below, joining a swiftly growing pool that had already spread around his boots.

_Rule number one: People die_.

Did that make it easier? No.

Kasori blinked repeatedly, staring at the young man's blood on his hand; with a simple stroke, he had just obliterated a life from this world; he had taken a child away from a mother, removed a link in who knew what interpersonal webs of colleagues, friends, lovers... Who knew who would grieve this young man's death?

Kasori would.

He knew that the soldier had been his enemy — he had been participating in the invasion of his sister tribe's home. It was quite possible – if not probable – that he had killed some of Kasori's brethren…

But Kasori would grieve this young man's death. His face would haunt him. He would remember those eyes, pleading for mercy, for the rest of his life. Would he regret his choice?

No.

Would the death still pain him?

Yes.

Kasori felt a tear trickle from his eye as he cleaned the blood off of his hand, reached down, and gently closed the unseeing eyes of the young man whose life he had taken.

* * *

Dawn broke rapidly: The night suddenly diluted, and light began to percolate through the air as the sun swiftly breached the horizon, spreading cold, white-gold rays across the city of T'aqaan and Tailbone Bay, the snow and water lighting up and sparkling merrily. Even the bloodstained patches of snow that dotted the city shone in the morning sun.

It was either morbid or beautiful. Or both.

With the dawn, the waterbenders lost a slight edge, but gained a sharper one: The reinforcements from the Capital arrived, and the destruction of the littoral warehouse had severely hampered the Earth Kingdom's ability to maintain its lines. Together with the additional impetus provided by the fresh wave of soldiers, this left the earthbenders without a leg to stand on: They retreated, rapidly.

In a matter of two or three hours, the Earth Kingdom line had receded by at least seventy percent, with their army essentially compressed against the shoreline, where they had managed, during the night, to construct some basic defensive fortifications. Nevertheless, it was a losing battle: They were vastly outnumbered, and additionally disadvantaged by the waterbenders' ability to manipulate the very ground on which they walked.

From the reports he was hearing, Chanek guessed that the entire army would be either captured or annihilated by noontime, probably before.

Nevertheless, he was still worried; He had left the medical kiosk as the sun rose, despite the objections of Kanira and the other healers. Seeing the Earth Kingdom soldiers attacking and killing medical personnel had left him seriously concerned for his family — even his cantankerous grandmother: If the earthbenders were willing to violate the formal rules of war and kill healers and noncombatants, what would stop them from killing pure civilians? And he had no idea just how far they had managed to penetrate into the city.

What if they had gotten to his family?

_Stop thinking like that!_ he scolded himself. _They're gonna be fine —_

_If I can find them_. He wasn't very familiar with the layout of T'aqaan, and between his aimless wandering around the previous day and the injuries he had sustained that were now starting to cloud his head, he had no idea where he was going.

But he had to try.

At least it was pretty quiet — well, that wasn't necessarily a plus: It was eerie, walking through the city streets, splotched with blood and strewn with debris from earth- and waterbending attacks and ruined buildings. Everything was virtually silent — the sounds of fighting were distant and unidirectional, coming from the north; he was walking west.

It was like being in a dream: Seconds bled into minutes and flowed in and out like tides, and time seemed to simultaneously fly and stand still.

How did the sun get so bright? And why was it purple…?

Chanek heard someone calling his name, but he couldn't reply; he couldn't quite tell, but he thought he was falling — and then his head hit something cold and soft, and everything vanished…

* * *

"Chanek…Chanek…Chanek, wake up!"

"What's he doing out here? I thought he lived in the Capital…"

"Better question: Why's he wandering the streets like he just escaped a loony bin?"

"He certainly does look under the weather…"

"Chanek," the first of the four voices resumed, "Chanek!"

_What the heck are they talking about…?_

He felt fine — lighter than air even, and there was this strange warmth spreading all throughout him, like some sort of gentle lightning, humming through his body…

And then everything cleared: His eyes fluttered open, and he had to nearly close them again against the bright, clear blue sky above; his entire body was cold now, and he realized that he was lying in the snow, with four people standing over him.

Master Recuto was one, and he recognized two of the others — they were those northern waterbenders, Unukk and Henyara. He had met them back during the last equinoctial visit. What were they doing here…?

Was he really dreaming this time, and not hallucinating from hunger and weakness? He just realized that his stomach was growling very loudly. He hadn't eaten anything at the medical kiosk — it had never occurred to him to ask, and he hadn't been there quite long enough for a meal shift.

And who was this fourth kid who was kneeling over him: He was a healer — Chanek could tell that by the glowing stream of water that he was passing across his head. But a boy healer? That was odd, even at the more gender-neutral South Pole. And green eyes…? What waterbender had green eyes?

"He's back," Recuto observed.

"How do you feel, Chanek?" asked the green-eyed healer.

"Like I got whacked in the head with a hammer," Chanek confessed honestly; the healer passed the water around the crown of his head and held it there a few seconds, and the throbbing pain suddenly vanished. "Wow, thanks…"

"Don't mention it, Chanek."

"How do you know my name? I don't know you…"

"You don't remember me?" the healer asked, though he didn't sound surprised. "I met you at the North Pole — I'm Kasori."

_Kasori…Kasori…oh, yeah, the Master kid._ Master Nanuk had introduced them to each other, but after that Chanek hadn't seen much at all of the boy.

"Oh, right…" he muttered, trying to sit up; Kasori held him back gently.

"Easy, Chanek, I need to check you over. You're pretty banged up, and I don't want you standing till I can confirm you won't keel back over."

"'M fine," Chanek mumbled, trying to resist; Recuto now laid his hand on his shoulder, assisting Kasori in restraining him.

"Trust him, Chanek," the elder Master said soothingly, "He's a wonderful healer — he'll have you fixed up in no time."

"I already saw a healer," Chanek protested, remembering Kanira.

"Healers in medical kiosks often don't have time to give you their full attention," Kasori said quietly as he worked, passing the glowing stream of water around Chanek's body, eliminating aches and rejuvenating tissues wherever it went. "They can't focus long enough to perform dedicated, precise healing. Their job is to keep you alive until they can get you somewhere else for full treatment. Just hold still a moment: I'm almost done…"

Chanek obliged and fell silent, letting Kasori continue to stream the healing water all across him; after a few more seconds, he withdrew the water.

"All right, go ahead and stand up." Chanek obeyed, and was amazed: He felt better than he had in days — weeks, even. He was totally rejuvenated — the ache in his head was gone, the pain in his lungs had vanished completely, and he felt strong enough to run a mile without breaking a sweat.

Just as he was thinking that, his stomach gave a very audible growl. Kasori smirked a little.

"Yeah, there's nothing I can do about that."

"I can," Henyara interjected, rummaging in a bag she was carrying: She pulled out a strip of seal jerky and passed it to Chanek, who devoured it ravenously.

"So what were you doing out here?" Unukk asked as he ate, "You said you were seeing a healer? I have trouble believing they'd let you go in the condition you were in…"

"I insisted," Chanek muttered around a mouthful of jerky; he swallowed and continued more clearly, though very quickly: "I have to make sure my mom and grandma are okay — they're in the city, and the earthbenders attacked the medical kiosk, and — "

"Easy, Chanek, slow down," Kasori interjected soothingly, "Start at the beginning." Chanek swallowed the last of the jerky, took a breath, and explained why he was in T'aqaan, what had happened yesterday and the preceding night, with the earthbenders attacking the kiosk and killing the healers, and how he was now worried for his family.

"You said they were in the inner city?" Recuto said thoughtfully.

"Yeah — but I don't know how far the earthbenders got — "

"Not that far," Unukk assured him.

"He's right, Chanek," Recuto affirmed, "I'm sure your family is fine. We've been running back and forth all morning with the higher ups, and none of the intelligence we have indicates that any earthbenders got into the inner city. If they did, the Army had a rearguard detachment stationed there anyway. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Chanek heaved a sigh of relief. That was an immense weight off his shoulders.

"So what am I supposed to do now?" he asked to no one in particular.

"The battle's almost over," Unukk told him, "The Army has the Earth Kingdom forces essentially pinned against the shoreline. It's only a matter of time before they surrender or get wiped out."

"We were on our way to rendezvous with one of the field commanders overseeing the final push," Kasori added, "You could come with us."

"Yeah," Chanek said, "I think that's a good idea."

* * *

"Captain, a final communiqué from General Xo Zhu."

Captain Ji Chen Gren took the missive and read it.

_Well, that's no shock_.

"Well, Captain?" the admiral asked impatiently.

"General Xo Zhu," Ji replied calmly, not even looking up from the missive, "reports that he is on the verge of defeat."

"Defeat?!" the admiral cried, aghast. Ji found it odd that he had not read the communiqué before giving it to him.

"Yes, defeat. He is outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and outmatched. Defeat tends to be the result of such a situation."

"Well then we must help him!"

"King Gaozhan gave me specific orders of how to proceed in case of this eventuality," Ji replied somewhat obliquely.

"Well, proceed then!"

"Yes, let's do that. Admiral, signal the fleet to make for Tailbone Bay at top speed…"

"Finally…" the man muttered.

"…and run up a flag of truce. Hail the Water Tribe fleet and relay a request for parley."

"What?!"

"Do it, Admiral!" Ji snarled, "It is an order from your king!"

* * *

Admiral Kaarunto stared out over the waters towards T'aqaan: Now that the sun had risen, and the fog of yesterday had dissipated, he could see the city clearly, even at this distance, with a dark mass at its littoral edge, indicative of the warring Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe armies. He had just received word from the shore that the earthbenders were on the brink of collapse, so it seemed likely that if Gaozhan were going to send any reinforcements, he would have to do it soon; therefore, he had raised the alert level of his entire fleet, which was still guarding the mouth of Tailbone Bay.

"Admiral," said the captain of his flagship, coming up behind him, "the forward lines have spotted ships on the horizon."

"Colors?"

"Earth Kingdom — but…sir…"

"What?"

"They're…they're flying white flags, sir."

"What?" repeated Admiral Kaarunto, rounding on the captain, totally surprised.

"Yes sir, white flags — and we've just received a message from them: They request a parley."

"_Parley?!_" Admiral Kaarunto roared, furious: These earthbenders attacked his home and then had the gall to come running to him with their tails between their legs, asking for _parley?!_

"Yes sir, parley," the captain replied calmly, though he was visibly unnerved by the admiral's wrath.

"Very well, Captain — if they want parley, we'll give them parley. Dispatch a reply at once, with the following conditions…"

* * *

A half our later, Admiral Kaarunto stepped across the boarding ramp to the Earth Kingdom flagship, which had, as per his conditions, completely detached itself from its fleet – which was holding off two nautical miles away – and was surrounded by four Water Tribe warships, excluding the admiral's own flagship.

Only three men met him on the deck — the rest had been ordered below, also as per the admiral's demands: The two on the flanks were an admiral and a captain, likely belonging to the vessel itself, but the one in the middle, the chief of the three, Kaarunto was surprised to see, was an army captain who wore very different armor: black and dark green, covered in a queer black mantle…

"Captain Ji Chen Gren," Admiral Kaarunto addressed the center man using the name that had been signed on the messages relayed from the Earth Kingdom fleet, "you have one minute to give me a _very_ good reason not to blow your fleet out of Water Tribe waters."

The captain bowed humbly and began to explain…

* * *

"Wow, they really are losing, aren't they?" Chanek murmured. From their vantage point on a large ridge outside the northwestern edge of the city, Kasori, Henyara, Unukk, Recuto, and Chanek, together with a handful of other Water Tribe officers, could observe virtually the entirety of the battle now playing out on the shoreline:

Two massive lines of combatants could be seen, one vaguely green and one vaguely blue, the latter impressing the former against the unfriendly waters of Tailbone Bay. The sounds of war cries and clanging metal, as well as rushing water and shifting earth, could be heard floating from the battleground, perhaps a mile away.

The Earth Kingdom army had shrunk vastly since it had landed the previous morning: By Kasori's modest estimate, it seemed as though only a couple hundred remained of what had likely been a landing force well within the thousands. The Water Tribe army, by contrast, enriched by the reinforcements that had arrived from the Capital a few hours before, numbered easily ten times that of the earthbenders, and it was almost embarrassing to watch them fall upon the latter with the strength of enraged thunderbolts, pushing through the Earth Kingdom's impromptu fortifications, which only barely retarded their progress.

Then, Kasori looked out over the bay. He had gotten so used to seeing the ships of the Fourth Fleet stationed there, patrolling back and forth, that he hadn't noticed that they were rapidly changing formation: Now Earth Kingdom dhows were passing through their ranks, bearing _Water Tribe flags!_

What on earth was going on here?

He pointed it out to the others, and they expressed similar confusion as the Earth Kingdom vessels, flanked and seemingly escorted by Water Tribe warships, descended upon the shore and began —

Kasori couldn't believe it: They were actually firing on their own men! The Earth Kingdom ships' catapults were churning out missiles in a deadly, crushing hailstorm, peppering the rear rank of the land force; the Water Tribe army swiftly fell back, undoubtedly flabbergasted by this bizarre turn of events, and the Earth Kingdom army, undoubtedly even more confused than their opponent, rapidly succumbed to the not-so-friendly fire.

In perhaps half an hour, it was over: Nothing alive appeared to remain of the Earth Kingdom army, and the dhows ceased fire, now running up white flags of truce, in addition to their binational ensigns.

"That," Henyara began in crude shock, "was the _weirdest_ thing I have _ever_ seen."

"Why on earth would they fire on their own men?" Kasori asked, horrified by the treachery he had just witnessed. Kasori glanced at Unukk — he was the best strategist among them: The boy was silent, blue eyes perturbed as he stared at the ground in front of him.

Somehow, Kasori suspected that that mild-mannered boy knew the answer, that he knew why the Earth Kingdom had just effectively cannibalized its own soldiers…but that it was too terrible for him to utter.

* * *

"Well, Captain," the Water Tribe admiral said scornfully, "now that you've succeeded in betraying your countrymen, I expect you to retreat posthaste."

"I told you, Admiral," Captain Ji Chen Gren told the man hotly, "_They _are the traitors, not we! My only regret is that we could not stop them in time to prevent this destruction."

The admiral snorted. "Right," he scoffed, "and I'm a purple platypus bear. I don't know what kind of sick game you and Gaozhan are playing that uses thousands of men's lives as bargaining chips, but I don't want any part of it.

"Consider the following an official ultimatum: You have two hours to gather up your forces, and whatever's left of those men down there, and get every single Earth Kingdom citizen off of Water Tribe lands and out of Water Tribe waters. My fleet will escort you all back to Omashu. If you are _not_ out of here in two hours, we will consider the conditions of our truce violated, and I assure you that we will give no quarter: _Every…last…one of you…_will die."

"Of course, Admiral," Ji replied humbly. The words tasted foul in his mouth, but he had to play the game and play it well, as King Gaozhan had ordered. "And you will not forget to relay my message to Chief Magoda…?"

"No, I will not."

"Thank you, Admiral," Ji said toothily, "And again, the Earth Kingdom is heartbroken over the death and destruction wrought here because of this grievous treachery. We sincerely hope that relations can be repaired between our two sovereignties." The admiral snorted again, turned, and left without a word, crossing over the boarding ramp back to his own ship.

* * *

"I still can't believe that he would do something like this," Henyara muttered that night, as she, Kasori, Recuto, Unukk, and Chanek were gathered together with Chief Magoda in one of the Capital palace's private lower rooms. "I mean, why would Gaozhan send an army at us just to turn on it in the end?"

"It has to be some kind of ploy," Kasori insisted, "From what Admiral Kaarunto said, he sent an Onyx Guard named Ji Chen Gren to wipe them out. That's the same earthbender whose mind I read back at Huei Zhang, the one who was involved in planning this attack in the first place."

"And there was a false trail there, too," Recuto observed, "Ji Chen Gren's thoughts indicated that the attack would be directed here, but it fell on T'aqaan instead."

"But it still doesn't make any sense," Henyara complained.

"It is a very odd thing to do," Chief Magoda concurred thoughtfully, "And disturbing that he was willing to sacrifice an entire army to execute the ploy."

"But what's the ploy?" asked Chanek, speaking for the first time in a long while: The conflict in T'aqaan had convinced his family to return immediately to the Capital, and Chanek had decided to come with Kasori and the others.

Kasori looked at Unukk: His friend had been awfully quiet ever since they had first seen the Earth Kingdom ships firing on their own soldiers, and even now he was silent, staring blankly at the wall.

"Unukk?" Kasori asked him gently, "Are you all right? You've barely said a word since T'aqaan."

"You guys don't see it, do you?" Unukk asked quietly, still staring at the wall. They all looked at him.

"See what?" Henyara asked crassly.

"Why Gaozhan would do what he did today."

"Uh, duh, no — that's why we're talking about it."

Unukk looked around at them and started to explain: "It's the ultimate strategic gamble. Think about it: We knew that the liberation of the Water Tribe prisoners at Huei Zhang had forced Gaozhan into a precarious position, one in which he would have to preempt our alerting the Earth King of his treachery.

"We assumed that there were only two options available to him: One, he could simply ignore the situation and allow the Earth King to find out, scrub the prison and hope everything would just blow over; or two, conquer the Southern Water Tribe and eliminate the problem directly. Both were extremely risky for a variety of reasons.

"But he did the one thing we never expected: He _made_ a _third_ option. He split the difference, attacking the Southern Water Tribe, but framing the attack so that it _appeared_ that it was conducted by an overzealous general acting outside the orders of his king.

"Remember the message that Ji Chen Gren was ordered to give the chief, the explanation for what had happened? It was that General Xo Zhu – who conveniently died in the battle – a young, enthusiastic, naïve general, infuriated by the Water Tribe embargo on Omashu, finally decided to arrogate the army subordinated to him and attack the Southern Water Tribe in retribution. This was without Gaozhan's orders, and it also neatly explains Omashu's apparent aggression towards Gaoling — I'll bet you anything that General Xo Zhu was also involved in that campaign.

"And by commanding one of his most trusted Onyx Guards to deal with this treacherous general, Gaozhan has managed to shift the blame – for everything from Huei Zhang to the attack on T'aqaan – onto a battle-hungry, overzealous general who just so happens to be dead now."

"But what about Captain Bagu and the others?" Henyara objected, "They told us that Gaozhan had ordered them to attack Water Tribe vessels, not General Xo Zhu!"

"Henyara," Kasori inserted quietly, "we left all of those guys at Huei Zhang, remember? They insisted on staying. They're long dead by now. Gaozhan will have seen to that."

"The last loose end," Unukk added darkly, "and it's not like the Onyx Guards who were there are going to betray their king."

"That's _insane_, though!" Henyara protested, staring around, seeking agreement, eyes wide.

"Yes, it is," Unukk replied calmly, "Many of the cleverest of plans are. Like I said, it was a gamble — one of the biggest imaginable. But if it pays off…"

"…then we're back to square one," Recuto finished.

"We have to face it," Kasori muttered angrily, "Gaozhan played us. Every single step of the way."

"That's pretty much the state of things," Unukk said; he sighed lamentingly. "At the very least, he's constructed the situation so that the ambiguity will stay Earth King Weizin's hand: This entire matter resolves to our word against that of Gaozhan and his elite guards, and can you blame Weizin for trusting his own citizens?

"We won the battle, but Gaozhan won the war."

"This is not over," Chief Magoda assured them all, "If Gaozhan is ambitious enough to pull this kind of stunt just to regain his strategic footing, then he will _definitely_ be coming after us again. We will be ready."

_Yeah…ready_, Kasori thought.

He hoped so, because they certainly hadn't been ready this time: They had thought themselves prepared, informed — and it turned out that Gaozhan had been pulling the strings the whole time.

They – _he_, Kasori, the Avatar – had completely underestimated the king of Omashu: underestimated his cunning, his ferocity, and his ambition. All at once.

They – _he_ – could not afford to make that mistake again. Today, it had cost the lives of thousands in a completely unnecessary battle. Next time, the price might be even steeper.

And on top of that, Kasori had just realized: Yuecu had been right. She had _told_ him that Gaozhan would attempt to find a third course, and that he would have to find it.

And he had failed yet again. He hadn't been able to find the middle ground, hadn't been able to see it until it was too late. It had totally slipped his mind in the intense worry and heat of the battle.

He knew he would spend many sleepless nights beating himself up over this catastrophic mistake, this mistake that had effectively signed the death warrants of thousands, Earth Kingdom _and_ Water Tribe.

But more immediately significant was this: If Gaozhan was willing to sacrifice entire armies to further his ambitions, if he was willing to take such profound and precarious risks…how on earth could he, Avatar Kasori, hope to stop him? Stopping him would require predicting his actions, and how could he nail down someone so volatile and devious?

Gaozhan had just become infinitely more dangerous.

_It doesn't matter_, Kasori resolved darkly. It was no longer a question at all: He, the Avatar, would cross paths with this bloodthirsty tyrant again. And when he did, he would have to be ready to face the kind of deception and ferocity that he had witnessed this day.

A line had been drawn: Blood had been spilt in the waters of the South Pole.

Innocent blood.

Kasori found himself staring at his hand: He could almost see the blood that had covered it hours before, the blood of that poor earthbender whom Gaozhan had sent to a merciless, unwarranted death…

…by the Avatar's hand.

Gaozhan had sent a man to the point of Kasori's sword.

And he would pay for it…and for every last drop of blood – Water Tribe _and_ Earth Kingdom – that he had caused to be shed in his terrible machinations.

_That_ Kasori swore.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

And so ends Book I. I should begin Book II: Journeys _two weeks from now_, taking next Saturday off to let the ending of this book sink in and to get ahead of the game in Book II. I hope this anticlimactic conclusion was satisfying enough - there will be plenty more in the future.

Also, despite the fact that I won't be posting, don't forget to check out Ciloron's _Avatar: The Tides of Chaos_ - he is definitely posting next Saturday.

Particularly since this is the end of Book I of III, feel free to leave reviews.


	19. Bk II, Ch 1, The Earth King's Plan

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book II: **_**Journeys**_

**Chapter 1: **_**The Earth King's Plan**_

It was a dark, terrible night: Rain was lashing the mountainside, the wind was howling monstrously, and lightning was rending the heavens apart with wide, stark gashes, coupled swiftly with gargantuan explosions of thunder that seemed to shake the earth itself.

Nevertheless, two men resolutely braved the tempest…solely to stand still: They were flanking a rather inconspicuous but prodigiously thick and sealed metal gate, a portal straight into the mountain, so it seemed. They wore the armor of Fire Nation Army soldiers, complete with the skull faceplates that signified upper-echelon firebenders. They were doing nothing else but standing in place, their eyes fixed on the narrow, rugged, and serpentine trail that extended in front of them, rounding a sharp corner and vanishing behind the intricate folds of the surrounding mountains.

Despite the seclusion, the men's body language evinced that they were clearly on high alert, and it appeared that they had good reason: Through the tenebrous curtain of torrential rain, a figure appeared, tall and thin, but otherwise utterly inscrutable due to the full-length and hooded black cloak that it wore.

The figure approached with swift, powerful strides, the kind of strides that would typify a high-ranking officer coming to inspect the troops…

"Halt!" one of the guards barked at the figure, which complied, though with the air of merely indulging the poor man. "This area is sealed off for Army purposes by order of the Fire Lord! Leave at once!"

"Actually," a voice came from within the shadowed depths of the caliginous hood, "it is sealed off by order of _me_." It was a woman's voice; she lifted her hands deliberately to her hood and lowered it.

The guards immediately snapped to full attention and bowed deeply.

"Princess," the one who had accosted her acknowledged half apologetically, half fearfully.

Princess Li Wa looked at him with stony eyes of bright, fiery amber. A bolt of lightning split the air and backlit her with a macabre white gleam.

"Open it," she ordered quietly.

"Yes, Princess…" The guard fumbled a moment – perhaps from his nervousness, perhaps from the rain, but more likely from both – with a key at his belt, which he subsequently used to unlock the gate. A small window in the middle of the portal slid open, and a slice of a face appeared, evidently summoned by the sound of the key turning the tumblers.

The face swiftly recognized the Crown Princess and vanished as abruptly as it had come; a moment later, the gate clunked and began sliding open, ironically revealing nothing but a very dimly lit corridor crudely carved out of the earth.

Princess Li Wa stepped toward the maw, but paused between the two guards.

"_No one_," she began with an emphatic but perfectly equanimous growl, "comes in behind me."

"Yes, Princess."

"No matter who it is."

"Yes, Princess."

"Even if it is my father."

The guard hesitated, but only briefly:

"Yes, Princess."

Princess Li Wa continued on, sinking into the shadows of the tunnel, the gatekeeper, whose face it had been that appeared in the window, shutting the portal behind her. The lock clicked loudly as the guards outside reset it.

The princess kept walking, her brisk, solid strides clacking against the stone; she came eventually to another thick, steel door, where a fourth guard kept vigil in the caliginous torchlight; he immediately recognized her and unlocked the door wordlessly. A fifth guard opened a window just like the first, spotted the princess, and opened the door to her.

Princess Li Wa stepped through this second portal, now finding herself on the other side of the mountain, in a small, secluded valley that was completely engulfed in enormous and intimidating crags as the mountains rose up all around a compound situated in the valley's center. Its front gate – the only aperture in a thirty-foot-high, three-foot-thick solid steel wall topped with dagger-like metal spikes at least two feet long and studded with smaller, equally sharp tines – was sentineled by four more guards.

They all snapped to attention, bowed, and stepped aside, operating a series of firebending-based locks that ultimately opened the gate with a metallic groan that was completely smothered by the roar of the storm.

Princess Li Wa entered the compound, navigating the roads between the various barracks-like structures, making her way assuredly to the far side, where she came to a small, nondescript building barely larger than a prison cell. It had every appearance of a makeshift military structure.

Not bothering to knock, the princess merely opened the door and stepped inside. The room beyond was virtually empty: There was only a pair of torches – one on each side of the entrance – a chair, and three men, one of whom was tightly bound to the chair against the opposite wall.

The other two men – one sporting the insignia of a lieutenant colonel, the other that of a major – both looked up as the princess entered; they bowed and stepped aside. Princess Li Wa shut the door behind her, which did little to mask the sound of the pounding rain and crashing thunder, and approached the man in the chair, looking down on him with utmost contempt.

"Has he said anything?" she asked quietly, not averting her eyes from what she obviously regarded as scum.

"Not a word, Princess," the lieutenant colonel replied somewhat tentatively; he glanced between the princess and the captive, and his gaze seemed to suggest that he feared for the latter.

Li Wa extended two fingers, and the lieutenant colonel visibly tensed, but she merely touched her fingertips to the captive's sweaty forehead and pushed his head back so that he was looking up into her eyes.

He had a haggard look, as though he had suffered a great deal in a short span of time, and his eyes seemed to drown beneath the amber beams lancing from Li Wa's.

"That will change," she growled. "How did we acquire him?

"Your Majesty," the lieutenant colonel began, "he was caught attempting to pass of a missive to someone in the Earth Kingdom regarding our recent operations in the Hu Shin provinces. But the handoff was a sting: We had already subverted the agent who was supposed to relay the missive. We captured both this guy and the message he meant to send. We archived the message — here is a copy." The officer drew a small scroll from his belt and passed it to the princess, who opened it, read it, and closed it again before burning it to dust in her hands.

"I'm afraid that your missive has been delayed…" she told the captive sneeringly, "…permanently."

"The missive was unaddressed," the lieutenant colonel continued cautiously, as though wary of interjecting, "and the agent we've subverted doesn't know the name of the intended recipient, so we've been trying to get this one to tell us, but he won't break." Li Wa surveyed the captive, who glared back up at her with all the defiance he could muster.

"He looks rather breakable to me," she whispered dangerously. She leaned in close, close enough that her swinging bangs of raven hair brushed against the captive's face. "Who were you working for?" she growled.

"I'm not going to tell you, Princess," the man assured her.

"So we're going to do this the hard way," the princess decided, straightening, "How delightful…" She extended two fingers, and this time the lieutenant colonel tensed for good reason: A blade of pressurized fire appeared at her fingertips; it was so hot that there was a lick of blue in its center, in turn embedded with the tiniest hint of green…

"Last chance," she warned the man in a slow, deadly voice. "Who were you working for?" The captive did not reply; his face was tensed as he braced himself for the coming agony…

"Very well…" Li Wa's hand came down, sharply and precisely, straight on top of the man's first finger of his right hand, severing the phalanx cleanly from the body and cauterizing the wound to boot.

The man yowled in pain as Li Wa simply swept the detached and smoking finger onto the floor, where it rolled sadly away.

"Who were you working for?" Li Wa repeated calmly, not even the slightest emotion evinced in her countenance except for her wrath, which was cold and deadly, like the storm raging around them.

"I-I can't tell you!" the man gasped, his eyes watering from pain.

"Unfortunate," Li Wa pronounced flatly; she extended the blade of fire again and chopped off a second finger. The captive screamed more loudly this time.

"Who were you working for?" Li Wa repeated, not even bothering to sweep away the man's severed finger this time. The captive huffed and puffed, his heart obviously pounding against his ribs as his entire body screwed up in agony.

"Wh-Whatever you do to me," he choked out, his eyes pouring rivers of tears, "he'll only do ten times worse!"

"Who?" Li Wa demanded sharply. The man did not answer. She chopped off his third finger, and his screams ran together with a boom of thunder, producing a truly awful, haunting sound, the kind of sound nightmares were made of.

"I-I c-can't…" the man sobbed, head hung, as though he no longer had the strength to even meet the princess's stone-cold gaze. "H-He'll just do worse…"

"Oh, I assure you," Li Wa whispered in a voice deadlier than the bolts of lightning splitting the sky above, seeping their effulgent light through the cracks in the door, "there is _nothing_ in this world that can do more to you than I can…and _will_, if you do not answer me _right now!_ _Who were you working for?_"

"I-I…c-can't…please…" Li Wa sliced through his fourth finger, leaving only his thumb on a smoking, blackened stump of a hand; she swept away the three severed digits as the man let loose a scream that quickly bled into a gasp for air followed by a staccato of uncontrollable sobs.

"Here's the deal, my friend," Princess Li Wa drawled utterly uncaringly, spitting the last words like they were poison, "You _will_ tell me what I want to know, and then you _will_ die. The only choice that you have in the matter…is how much it hurts before you do.

"You have six fingers left," she observed heartlessly, "ten toes, and thirty-two teeth, and I am prepared and willing to _rip every last one_ from you _one…by…one!_ Or perhaps you'd rather lose an ear?" She caressed his ear teasingly, causing him to shudder violently. "Or maybe," she snarled, "I should just _torch your eyes!_" She cranked his head back with one hand and extended the fire blade with the other, letting its searing, utterly unwavering tip hover a mere inch from the captive's right eyeball, whose pupil dilated in sheer terror and then contracted from the intense light before it.

"After all," Li Wa finished drawlingly, a wolfish smile twisting her lips, "it's not like you'll be _needing_ them anymore…"

The man gasped for air, and for a moment, it appeared that he was choking, but then he spoke, his voice drenched in fear and pain:

"I-I'll tell you what you want to k-know." Li Wa's smile vanished, and she straightened, releasing the man's head and extinguishing her fire blade.

"Speak," she growled, glaring down at him.

"I-It was King Gaozhan of Omashu."

This did not seem to surprise the princess at all.

"Why?"

"H-He heard rumors about this place — "

"From whom?" Li Wa cut across him, causing the man to start.

"F-From some guy called Satsuke — but I'm sure it was a codename — "

"Oh, it was," Li Wa assured him icily, "and we have dealt with that problem. Continue: Why is Gaozhan trying to spy on us?"

"He's expanding his empire across the Earth Kingdom — he owns most of the southern continent already! He can't move farther east, though, without encroaching on King Küe Lü's territory around Pei Huang."

"I'm well aware of that already," Princess Li Wa hissed, "What good does it do him to risk spying on _us?_"

"A-At first it was just curiosity, but then he found out what you were doing: how you were gearing up for a secret war with the Earth Kingdom. After his attack on the Southern Water Tribe failed, he needed a distraction that could keep Weizin's attention off of him while he reorganized. He planned to expose you to the Earth King and spark a war prematurely."

"And that would disguise his machinations in the south," Li Wa finished. "Quite clever…" She rounded on the lieutenant colonel. "Lieutenant Colonel Hirodishi, how serious is our security breach?"

"We've tied off all loose ends," Hirodishi assured the princess, "This is the last one."

"Triple check. Check everyone and everything. I want _nothing_ interfering with our plans!"

"Yes, Princess."

Li Wa rounded on the captive.

"Does Gaozhan know who you are? Does he know your face?"

"Y-Yes…" the man anwered timidly, obviously unsure where she was going with this new line of questioning.

"Good," Li Wa growled, "then he'll recognize it when I send him his warning." Without another word, she jabbed two fingers into the man's chest, sending a powerful jolt of electricity straight through his heart, afflicting his body with violent tremors and sending his eyes rolling back into his head; a second later, he was dead, and Li Wa withdrew her hand, fingertips smoking.

"Colonel Hirodishi," she moved on, not even batting an eye, "have him decapitated and his head dispatched in a box to the good king of Omashu. Burn the rest."

"Yes, Princess. Right away." He moved to the chair, untying the ropes that held the man's body in place before taking it by the wrist and dragging it to the door, which he then opened, yanking the man outside and into the storm.

As the lieutenant colonel hauled the body away to be taken care of, Princess Li Wa turned to the major who remained.

"Major Niroshita, bring in Satsuke."

"Yes, Princess." He raced dutifully out into the torrential rain; Li Wa waited, perfectly still, like a terrifying statue, occasionally lit by the flares of lightning bursting in through the open doorway.

The major returned soon, escorting a man by way of a wrist lock; he flung him roughly into the chair and proceeded to tie him tightly in place before stepping aside to allow the princess free reign.

Major Niroshita closed the door as Princess Li Wa approached the new prisoner, who looked up at her with terrified eyes.

Li Wa lifted two fingers and produced a blade of fire.

"Let's talk," she growled.

* * *

Captain Ji Chen Gren made his way hurriedly towards the throne room, barely seeing the ornate halls as they whisked by.

He had quite a bit on his mind: It had been weeks since the king had summoned him, weeks since Ji had debrief him on the success of the operation at the South Pole — well, he supposed it was a success; after all, they had lost General Xo Zhu, but since King Gaozhan had planned for that to happen, Ji assumed that that counted as a success.

Anyway, King Gaozhan had commended him for his service…and then sent him away, to three weeks of total isolation, running standard drills with the other Onyx Guards. It didn't make sense! Why was he wasting his time with mundane military rigmarole when there were so many loose ends?

…Like what to do about the Southern Water Tribe?

After all, they may have narrowly averted a full-scale war and barely managed to assuage Earth King Weizin, who had done nothing more than objurgate King Gaozhan for being so "negligent" as to allow a rogue general to commit such atrocities under his watch…but Ji had no doubt that the Southern Water Tribe was not fooled. The snow savages were many things, but _fools_ was not one…

What would they do now that they were aware of King Gaozhan's ambitions? They would get nowhere with Weizin, who had his own problems up north to deal with, but it wouldn't be unlike the Water Tribe to take matters into their own hands. Of course, their latitude was restricted: Weizin wouldn't appreciate a formal attack on the Earth Kingdom. But Ji knew them well enough to know that they would not do _nothing_.

And then there was the matter of the firebenders, the ones who had assaulted Huei Zhang prison. Ji knew enough about combat to know that those had been no ordinary warriors — and it wasn't just that he felt shamed by being beaten by one, though that certainly didn't help: It was that, from everything he knew about their mission, how they had conducted themselves, and how a mere eleven of them (that was where the official count sat anyway) had bested a veritable contingent of the best earthbenders in the Omashu Royal Army, without suffering a single fatality themselves…that was all incredibly impressive. It was _beyond_ impressive. If he hadn't seen it himself, he would have said it was impossible.

Ji had to admit that if the Onyx Guards were to face off against those firebenders again, now, the result would likely be no better than it had been at Huei Zhang.

On top of that, the firebenders had been willing to attack a fortified Earth Kingdom prison, seemingly with complete disregard for the politics involved. That was, in a very important way, even more dangerous than their skills: If they were willing to cross national boundaries and set aside the normal rules of military operations, what would that mean for King Gaozhan's plans?

Ji could not foresee a future in the king's ambitions if the firebenders were not dealt with — at the very least _contained_. And Ji thought that he was the best person for the job — after all, he had been the only one at Huei Zhang to even stand his ground against them, apart from their female leader. With some training, he could defeat them all — he was sure of it.

So why had the king been keeping him on the sidelines for so long now? What was the point?

_I have to trust my king_, Ji berated himself fiercely. _In times such as this, that is crucial. I _will_ trust King Gaozhan._

He had reached the throne room; the distrait captain reached up and rapped three times.

"Enter," came the king's usual booming admittance; Ji obliged, approached the throne, and bowed.

"Your Majesty," he said humbly, "your servant awaits your command."

"I imagine that you have been impatient to get back into the action, eh, Captain?"

_How did he know? _King Gaozhan always knew.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ji confessed. It would do no good to lie. "Your servant yearns to serve."

"Good, because I have much work for you to do."

_Then why have I been doing nothing for so long? _Ji held his tongue; the king would surely explain…

"For the past few weeks, while you have been occupied by trivial duties, I have been engaged in the laborious process of tracking down the firebenders who attacked my prison."

_Ah, of course! I should have known that it would have taken time to hunt them down — and that is not the job of a soldier, but of intelligence officers, which is why he kept me out of the loop! _King Gaozhan was quite wise.

"Have you found them, Your Majesty?" Ji could not help but ask.

"Yes…and no." What did _that_ mean? "You see, Captain, they are quite crafty. It is obvious from their expertise and the ease with which they assaulted Huei Zhang that these men and women are militarily trained. It is also obvious from their knowledge of the capture of a deep-cover agent that they are connected to the Fire Nation government at the highest levels, perhaps even up to Fire Lord Beilin himself…or his daughter.

"As such, they have the best cover possible. So far, my agents do not have the reach or resources to track them anywhere beyond our immediate shores, where we know that they have operatives in place to monitor Earth Kingdom affairs." _Fire Nation agents operating on the Earth Kingdom's shores? But why?_ Ji wondered. What could they want?

Spying during peacetime was, of course, a staple of the intelligence business, but why would such an obviously elite and militarized force bother with the mundane task of broad intelligence mining? That was the job of underlings, not specialist covert warriors.

"I had managed to flip a few of their lower-level agents, and have discovered some interesting information, but like I said, these firebenders are crafty: They swiftly discovered this subterfuge and have since eliminated my moles. They are likely in the process of sweeping their entire infrastructure for further breaches. They will be on guard.

"That arena, therefore, is closed to us for now; however, there remains another course of action: you."

"Me, Your Majesty?" Ji repeated, "I confess that I do not understand."

"These firebenders are _very_ active all across the western Earth Kingdom, and the information I have obtained indicates that their objective is, actually, rather unsurprising: They are preparing for war."

"War, Your Majesty?" Ji echoed, shocked. Well, it wasn't shocking that firebenders wanted to start fights, but it was surprising that they would be so bold about it. The Fire Nation Army simply didn't have the muscle to take on the Earth Kingdom head-to-head.

"Yes, Captain, _war_. The Fire Nation resents its economic dependence on the Earth Kingdom, as well as our technological superiority over them. Previous Earth Kings have not treated the Fire Nation very kindly when it comes to these matters. It is understandable that the Fire Nation should be angered. For the last few years, they have attempted to bridge the gap by planting colonies, but these have largely been fruitless and wasteful enterprises. The Fire Nation is out of options. They will take what they think they need, and they will not allow anyone to stand in their way.

"Preparing for war is no simple matter," King Gaozhan added matter-of-factly, as though this were the most obvious thing in the world, "and as you are probably aware, the Fire Nation's military is eclipsed by the Earth Kingdom's. They do not stand a chance in a mere exchange of firepower.

"But if the events of the last months should have convinced you of _anything_, Captain, it is that warfare is not always about odds. It is also a matter of cunning, and evidently these firebenders are quite cunning. That makes them very dangerous…and a threat that I must deal with immediately."

Ji had figured as much. So where did he fit in…?

"That's where you fit in, Captain," the king continued, echoing the Onyx Guard's thoughts, "I have discovered that these firebenders are supplying certain bands of marauders in the central Earth Kingdom, just north of the Si Wong Desert, with the goal of exacerbating civil unrest and rendering the kingdom more vulnerable to attack in the future — in other words, typical insurgent warfare.

"There is a port by the name of Shun Bei, directly across the ocean from the easternmost islets of the Fire Nation archipelago. Doubtless you have heard of it: It is a powerful black market hub. Many of the remnants of the Black Arrow syndicate use it as a trade nexus. It is thus the perfect place from which to springboard the firebenders' illicit enterprises in this kingdom.

"I have discovered that they have a cache of contraband weapons and such scheduled to be handed off to a particularly sizeable band of marauders known only as the Jing Po. I do not know when the transaction is to take place, but my information indicates that it is likely that this cache, which is located in the mountains east of the port, is a permanent facility: Even if the goods are not there, there are likely to be some Fire Nation agents nearby.

"I want you to take a team of Onyx Guards and investigate this cache. Discreetly. You will select your teammates immediately — only four. We cannot risk attracting much attention from the Earth King — or King Zao Cai of Taku, for that matter. You will find that the details have already been left at your bunk in the barracks — now go. You have work to do, Captain."

"As the mighty King Gaozhan commands!" Ji cried eagerly; he bowed, turned, and departed rapidly, sporting a feral grin.

He didn't even mind the abrupt dismissal.

It was time to avenge himself upon these firebenders!

* * *

Li Wa paced her office at The Vault, experiencing a very rare emotion: worry.

It wasn't just that her beyond-top-secret special operations agency had been compromised – even if only briefly – or that one of her intelligence officers had very nearly been captured by the Earth Kingdom, or that her father was breathing down her neck, wondering why she was absent from the Capital City so much recently, especially since Admiral Zutonishi had returned with his fleet from the pirate hunt…

No, it was more than that.

She had just received word of the details of what had become of the battle at the South Pole. She was surprised that it had taken so long for the information to reach her, but she supposed that it had been a very isolated incident, and neither party involved had exactly broadcasted the event.

Gaozhan's maneuvers, the ruse he had employed…that was what worried her.

For the first time in her life, Li Wa had underestimated an opponent.

She cursed herself, and had to admit that it was lucky that Gaozhan hadn't precisely been _her_ opponent in the game. But he _was_ her opponent in another game, a more dangerous one, one on which the fate of her nation potentially hinged.

She could not – she _would _not – repeat her error.

Gaozhan's stratagem had been incredibly risky, bold, and executed with perfect confidence: From the reports, it seemed that he had completely pulled the wool over the eyes of Earth King Weizin, which wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do…though not the hardest, either. Most importantly, the move had been unpredictable.

Even Li Wa had not seen it coming.

If Gaozhan were willing to and capable of employing tricks like that, then his interest in The Vault just went from transient concern to priority one.

The Vault's mission had just changed: It was now their first job to subvert Gaozhan's attempts to infiltrate their infrastructure, and to try and neutralize him completely.

Of course, the fastest way would be to simply kill him.

Li Wa had no doubt that she and her firebenders could do it: Gaozhan's threat didn't come from his bending or fighting skills, though those were reputed to be considerable; rather, it came from his vulpinity, his deviousness.

But no, killing him presented the same problems it did a few weeks ago, when she had considered it as an option for removing the security threat posed by the captured FURISHIMA; plus, the recent events at the South Pole and the implication of Omashu therein would make Gaozhan's death appear simply too coincidental. The Earth King might have bought Gaozhan's cover story, but the latter turning up dead would not be something to be swept under the rug: Weizin would begin asking some very serious questions, questions that Li Wa could not answer.

No, now more than ever, the stealthy approach would be required.

Thankfully, Li Wa was good at that — or so she had thought. Perhaps she needed to reevaluate her own abilities. She had been caught off-guard, and that could not happen again: Too much depended on it.

"Princess?"

"Yes, Major Niroshita?" Li Wa's voice was totally calm and even, belying her distrait pacing.

"A coded missive arrived for you from HAKURA. It regards Operation ACOLYTE."

Li Wa strode directly over to the major and took the little scroll he held out to her. She opened it rapidly and read furiously…though there was no need — for apart from the signature, the missive contained only two words, written in cipher, of course:

_Code Redemption._

Li Wa smiled wolfishly.

The tables had just turned.

* * *

"You're doing fine, Unukk," Kasori assured his friend, who was balancing on one foot in a rather difficult pose, spinning several chakrams made of ice on the tips of his index fingers and even one on his heel. It was an Air Nomad form that Kasori had found in an old textbook, designed to promote balance under the influence of intense winds.

"I don't feel like it," Unukk said through gritted teeth as he teetered slightly; one of the chakrams came dangerously close to sliding off his fingertip, but he recovered in time.

Kasori smiled — and then gasped as his two-year-old sister Niika tugged at a strand of his hair. He bent up a small stream of water from the snow on which he was sitting and looped it in a halo around her head, distracting her and causing her to squeal in delight. He smiled again. Niika always seemed to like to watch him waterbending, though she had yet to display any ability for it herself.

Kasori didn't care. He wouldn't mind if his sister never turned out to be a bender — though it made occupying her attention difficult. He kept the little stream of water twining around her hands so that she kept trying to catch it while he watched Unukk slowly shift positions in the form, maintaining his balance on one foot and keeping the chakrams spinning in sync.

"Nice transition," Kasori told him bracingly. Unukk groaned.

Kasori looked out over the sea from the hill where they were: Polar night had completely engulfed the North Pole, and the ocean was a faintly glistening black sheet in the darkness, with the ice and snow seemingly glowing a soft spectral blue. The sky above was heavily bejeweled with stars and nebulae, and a faint but discernible aurora permeated the heavens. Soon the moon would rise and form a giant silver gem in the blackness.

And it was _cold_ — bitterly cold, even for the North Pole, though there was no wind this evening. Niika was a veritable ball of fur in her tiny parka. This winter promised to be a severe one — but that was nothing to the northerners. They were all too used to it.

His mind had run away with him, such that he started when he heard the sound of shattering ice: Unukk had dropped his chakrams, and they had broken to pieces against the frozen surface of the snow. He was staring off to the east, down the hill leading back to the Capital, with a look of utter disbelief on his face.

"Unukk?" Kasori said, standing up, keeping Niika in his arms; the rivulet of water he had been bending for her dropped to the snow as his attention was diverted, and she immediately returned to trying to pull his hair.

Kasori turned his head to follow his friend's gaze: Chief Nattut and Banaq, Kasori's father, were approaching from the city, the former appearing somewhat irritated – nothing unusual there – and the latter incredibly agitated — which _was_ unusual.

Behind and between them, apparently being led by them, was a man of impressive stature, with incredibly broad, statuesque shoulders and a very ceremonial arrangement to his coarse, dark brown hair. Chestnut eyes gleamed beneath the crown adorning his head, and his entire body was draped in various cloths in equally various shades of green.

On the front of his robes was the symbol of the Earth Kingdom.

Kasori had read enough history books to know who this man had to be, particularly since he, the chief, and Banaq were being followed by four men outfitted in the obvious regalia of Royal Earthbenders.

The group of seven reached the two young waterbenders, and the man in green stepped forward towards Kasori, a look of intense interest in his brown eyes.

"You must be Kasori," he said in a strong, gravelly voice, without any sense of prelude at all, "You're the only person at the entire North Pole I've seen who has green eyes. I've heard much about you, and I must say, I'm glad to meet you finally, after all these months."

Kasori glanced at Unukk; the boy was staring at the man in green, the incredulity still quite plain in his eyes, though he had otherwise managed to compose himself in a manner befitting the Prince of the North.

Kasori returned his attention to the stranger, whose convoy of black-clad earthbenders had now approached farther, outstripping Chief Nattut and Banaq and flanking the enormous man in green.

"It is an honor," Kasori said slowly, staring the man straight in the eye, "to meet the esteemed ruler of the Earth Kingdom." He bowed respectfully, though Niika was still in his arms.

Earth King Weizin smiled in return.

* * *

Köna's stomach growled loudly as he meandered through the streets of Shun Bei. He was sure that Lucky, his sky bison, was just as hungry, but he wasn't sure if getting food here was the best idea: He didn't have any money, and getting some would be tricky, since even for him, Shun Bei was a pretty shady place. It made him wonder if a simple meal was worth the gamble…

"Sorry, ma'am — you lose!" came a greasy voice from his right: There was a small crowd in an alley there, all gathered around a man who was seated behind a little wooden table, very low to the ground, atop which were three clay cups. A woman was in front of him, quickly descending into hysterics.

"B-But I needed the money for my ch-child!" she protested, obviously on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the conman said without the slightest ounce of penitence, "but those are the rules of the game — sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and this time, you lost."

He slid a bag of coins across the table from her side to his, and the woman stood, staggering away in evident anguish, slumping against the wall and breaking down into quiet sobs.

The man – and the crowd – ignored her.

"Who's next?" the man called jovially.

Köna had already changed direction and seated himself in front of the table, smiling like the kid he was.

"I'll have a go," he said cheerfully, "as long as I can put up _this_ as my wager — just enough for a meal." He extended his hand, showing his Air Nomad glider. It was his only possession, and quite well-carved, too.

"Hmm…deal!" the man decided. He showed Köna a pebble and placed it dead center on the table, covering it with one of the cups and then placing the other two cups on either side.

He began to shuffle them, keeping his eyes on Köna the entire time, whose attention was seemingly fixed on the cups as they whirled around in convoluted and ever-changing circles…

But in reality, his mind was focused on the man himself: He knew every trick of the trade, and he knew that the man had more than one pebble, with others hidden inside his long sleeves. With careful flicks of his wrists and jerks of the cups, he could move the pebbles from one cup to another.

So it did no good to follow the cup itself; instead, one had to watch the dealer.

That was how it always went in these scams.

And Köna was a master of scams…

The cups came to a standstill.

"Which one holds the pebble, young Air Nomad?" the man asked gleefully, clearly thinking that a mere child would not see through his deception.

Köna pointed calmly and immediately at the cup on his left.

The dealer's face visibly fell as he lifted the cup, revealing the pebble (though not the same one he had started with).

"Lucky boy, lucky boy," he praised thinly as the crowd broke out in whispers of surprise, "but would you care to go again?"

"Why not?" said Köna smilingly as he took the bag of money handed to him, "Same stakes."

"Agreed."

They went another round, and Köna won again.

Now the crowd was in an uproar, some cheering him on, others glaring daggers at him — they had probably lost quite a bit of coinage on this game.

The dealer was the unhappiest of all: They played a third round, and Köna won yet again, cleaning the dealer out of half of his profits this time.

"Let's up the ante," Köna said as he took his winnings, "Everything you've got for everything I've got."

"An all-in deal, eh? You're on, kid!"

Köna smirked. These guys were always quick to jump on foolish gambles once they were mad enough. It was the oldest ploy in the book.

And Köna had _written_ that book.

They played again, and Köna had to hand it to this dealer, he was trying his hardest: He was switching out no less than three pebbles between the cups, which were moving so fast that to the average eye, they would be nothing but a blur.

But Köna had an ace in the hole: He would teach this con artist to scam women trying to help their children.

This time, the dealer flicked the pebble up into his sleeve without returning one to the cups: All three would be empty, and there would be no way for anyone to win. It was the last resort of the con, since if, after being informed of his loss, the challenger demanded to see which cup the pebble was under, the dealer would be found out.

_He's pulling out all stops_.

Köna had his own last resort: Surreptitiously, with his hand in his lap (everyone was watching the cups anyway), he twitched his fingers lightly, which to most would seem an innocuous gesture, shifting the air currents in the man's sleeve, just enough to knock the pebble back to its position under the right-hand cup.

"Where's the pebble, boy?" the man growled, not bothering with his original geniality.

Köna, grinning ear to ear, tapped the appropriate cup.

The dealer smiled wolfishly.

"Sorry, kid." He pulled up the cup, and his face fell when he found the pebble there. "H-How — ?"

"Guess I win!" Köna chirruped, pulling several bags of money across the table to his side, where a small pile had accumulated; the crowd was in rare form, with people crying foul and some – likely the career grifters – merely shaking their heads, smiling as they realized that the conman had been conned.

Köna stood and left quickly, before the dealer or anyone else decided to accost him.

But he didn't stray far: He jumped, unnaturally high, up onto the roof of a nearby building, sitting down and waiting patiently until the crowd had cleared for the evening; as the sun began to set, he saw the woman who had been cheated, tears staining her face, exiting the alley, trudging her way homeward.

Köna followed her, hopping lightly from rooftop to rooftop, until she reached her house: It was a tiny little thing on the northeastern edge of the town, near the mountains where Köna had secreted his bison.

As she opened the door, with the agonizingly slow movements of someone who was dreading having to give her family some terrible news, she jumped, alarmed, as at least a dozen bags of gold and silver coins dropped at her feet.

She gasped in amazement at the money, unable to believe her eyes, which soon enough fell on a little scrap of paper tied to one of the biggest bags, lying on top of the heap; she snatched it up and read it furiously, though it only had a few words scribbled on it: _For you and your child_.

She looked up into the sky, whence the money had fallen, but Köna was already long gone, flying away towards the mountains on his glider, the cool wind whipping across his bald head.

The Air Nomad boy smiled; he had given her everything, all the coins he had won…even the ones that had been for his and Lucky's dinner.

He didn't know what she needed the money for, or what afflicted her child, or what had made her think that gambling was a smart way of getting it — but he didn't care: For her, he would go hungry tonight.

It wouldn't be the first time.

* * *

"I wondered if I might have a private word with you, Kasori," Weizin asked.

Kasori thought that an extremely odd request: Since when did the Earth King _ask_ for anything of fifteen-year-old Water Tribesmen? And for that matter, what on earth could Kasori offer him that was so important that Weizin would come himself, rather than send an envoy?

Banaq seemed to have the same concern: Kasori's father was visibly growing more anxious by the minute.

Chief Nattut, on the other hand, merely seemed miffed — though who knew why.

Unukk was still flabbergasted.

And Niika was still tugging on Kasori's hair.

"Certainly, Your Majesty…if that's what you want," Kasori replied carefully; Banaq came up to him.

"Here, Kas, I'll take your sister." Kasori passed her off, though he had to tug a lock of his hair free in the process. Niika protested with a sound that vaguely resembled _no_, but her father carried her off, followed by Chief Nattut, heading back down the hill to the Capital; Unukk stood speechless for a few more seconds before mimicking them, casting Kasori a totally confused look as he left.

The Royal Earthbenders didn't budge, but then Weizin turned to them.

"Guards, you may leave us as well."

If they didn't like that thinly veiled order – which they probably didn't – they gave no sign of it: All four bowed, turned smartly on their heels (which, Kasori had to give them credit, was not easy for the unaccustomed soul to do on such icy terrain), and departed.

Once the two of them were alone, Weizin turned back to Kasori; that same look of immense fascination was still in his chestnut eyes, which were riveted on Kasori, scanning him up and down, as though sizing him up.

Kasori waited: He had no clue what this could possibly be about; it had occurred to him that perhaps this might have something to do with the battle at the South Pole, but it didn't make sense for that to pertain directly to him — and for that matter, why would the Earth King be taking that up with the _Northern_ Water Tribe?

Besides that, protocol dictated that he hold his tongue until the Earth King gave him invitation to speak.

Of course, he didn't give the underside of an Artic wolf's tail about the Earth King's protocols: This man had not exactly earned his favor, with his seemingly lackadaisical approach to the strife plaguing his kingdom — and after all, it was under _his_ watch that Gaozhan had been allowed to commit the crimes that he had.

Kasori knew that that wasn't entirely fair, but it did little to assuage his suspicions of this man. Either way, Weizin would not find him to be much warmer than the ice and snow amidst which he lived.

"Well," Weizin began, rather conversationally for a king, "I'm sure you're wondering what I'm doing here."

"That thought had crossed my mind, yes, Your Majesty," Kasori admitted somewhat frostily.

"I have heard many things of you, young Kasori — there are rumors floating around about you in the northern Earth Kingdom, rumors of a green-eyed waterbender who strikes fear into the hearts of criminals!" He gave a booming, hearty laugh. "I must say, rumors aside, you must be quite the waterbender if you caught Panqin!"

"Your seamen caught Panqin, Your Majesty," Kasori corrected flatly, "I was merely the one who found out where he was — and I had help in that matter."

"And humble, too," Weizin observed, as if to himself, totally ignoring the remark, "Or perhaps just suspicious. I have yet to tell you, after all, why I am here. As I was saying, my people have been talking about you. You have given them hope in a very dark time. I have been trying for many years to battle the corruption and strife that plague my kingdom, but with little luck. Now along comes a fifteen-year-old boy from the North Pole, who does what I cannot!"

_A fifteen-year-old boy…and the Avatar_, Kasori thought briefly — though he had no intention of revealing that fact.

"It is quite heartwarming to find a Water Tribe boy who cares so much for the wellbeing of my people. It is reassuring in these dark times — no offense to you or your people, but the Water Tribe is generally quite isolationist in its approach to the other nations."

Kasori found something patronizing in his tone, but perhaps he had just imagined it — he couldn't dispute the truth of the observation: The Water Tribe _was_ very isolationist. Still, though, he said nothing in reply.

"You have had a particularly powerful impact on my son, Prince Mushari," Earth King Weizin continued, "He has had something of an obsession with you recently: You have inspired him, as it were. You see, Mushari is a very gentle soul, and he cares deeply for the people he will one day govern. The strife and trouble of recent times weigh heavily on his heart, and when he heard of you, he was greatly encouraged.

"That is why I am here: Prince Mushari would very much like to meet you, and he finally plucked up the courage to ask me if I could perhaps arrange such a meeting."

Kasori remained silent: This was perhaps the oddest conversation that he had ever had.

So the prince of the Earth Kingdom found him fascinating? Well, at least he sounded as though he was far more concerned about his people than his father — though, perhaps that too was unfair: Weizin _had_ been doing quite a lot to settle the civic unrest plaguing his kingdom; the problem was that there was _so much_ of it — he simply wasn't able to do it all. He was only one man, even if he was the Earth King.

But still…

"With all due respect, Your Majesty," Kasori began neutrally, "I find it farfetched that the Earth King, who traditionally has rarely if ever left the city of Ba Sing Se, would come all the way to the North Pole, in the middle of winter…just to ask a fifteen-year-old boy if he wants to meet the prince."

Weizin laughed again, though this time it sounded more cheerful and less condescending.

"You are as sharp as I have heard," he observed. _Not really_, Kasori thought, _It's pretty obvious._ "Indeed, I do have something of an ulterior motive. You see, Mushari has been pestering me recently to allow him to travel the kingdom, to get a feel for the problems that plague its various provinces, so that we may better attempt to rectify them."

_Sounds like a good idea_, Kasori thought, though he had to wonder why the king had not already done so.

But then he realized that he probably had…with official teams of royal envoys, whose bureaucratic presence had probably discouraged the people from giving an honest account of their grievances. A single prince, probably traveling in disguise, wouldn't attract nearly as much attention, and could observe with impunity. After all, Kasori had never even heard of Prince Mushari until now, so it was likely that the heir had never left Ba Sing Se, or possibly even the Royal Palace.

"Now, I would be happy to allow such a voyage, but for one thing: Mushari is…well, he's not the toughest boy one could ever meet. He is my son, and I love him dearly, but he is, frankly, built like a daffodil. He has no self-defense skills whatsoever, and he's not an earthbender. I cannot in good conscience send him out by himself into the dangerous reaches of the kingdom, and he refuses to take royal escort — he wants to observe the people as one of them, not as a prince."

_Smart kid_, Kasori thought shortly. _Gutsy, too_.

"There are two others who are willing to go with him and would be inconspicuous traveling partners, but I still had my doubts until you came along: You are obviously a very skilled warrior, and you have demonstrated a great concern for my people.

"_That_ is what I have come to ask you, Kasori: Will you consent to accompany my son, and keep him safe while he seeks a way to solve the problems that plague my kingdom?"

Kasori thought about that; it was still a very odd request, particularly coming from the Earth King himself, but the fact that he was here, and that he was asking a Water Tribesman for help, was indicative of how serious the problem was: He was willing to forego his national and royal pride to ask for help from someone from another nation, who was still a child by his own country's standards, and who certainly had no royal background.

It couldn't have been easy for him to ask that, and Kasori had to give him credit for it. Most Earth Kings would have never even considered such an "impropriety."

And it was a tempting offer: After all, as the Avatar, this was exactly what he would be doing in barely a year's time — traveling around the world, assessing problems, coming up with solutions, and then implementing those solutions.

And the Earth Kingdom was in dire need of help — he had seen that in Xing Fong, and that had only been one small port. He could only imagine what the rest of the kingdom looked like. He had heard rumors about the bands of marauders, the Black Arrow syndicate, and the pirates in the east — and then, of course, there was Gaozhan in the south, and all the havoc he was wreaking.

This was a golden opportunity.

Almost before he had decided, Kasori had opened his mouth:

"Your Majesty, I would be honored to accept your invitation."


	20. Bk II, Ch 2, Ba Sing Se

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book II: **_**Journeys**_

**Chapter 2:** _**Ba Sing Se**_

Shun Bei truly was a disgusting place, Ji thought: little more than a seedy port with a scattering of residences at the rear of the town. It was a haven for the scum of the Earth Kingdom, particularly since from there, they were able to escape to the various uncharted, pirate-controlled islands in the sea to the west — though recently, that had become increasingly difficult, what with the Northern Water Tribe and Fire Nation's newfound antipiracy alliance.

Nevertheless Shun Bei remained a black market goldmine, and it had been that way for as long as anyone could remember. But that was what made it useful: The black market was one of the best sources of sensitive information in the world. Information was virtually a commodity in and of itself here, with people buying and selling secrets on a daily basis.

Of course, for Ji Chen Gren and his earthbender team – composed of Sergeants Ru Fuang, Yuan Po, and No Re Gua; and Lieutenant Do Zhi – the secrets that they were looking to uncover were not so readily attainable. One didn't just go around asking about super-secret teams of militarized firebenders in the first place, and no one here had likely ever heard of them anyway. Not only that, but asking around about them could be dangerous: It could tip off the firebenders that they were onto them.

No, for now, this contraband cache here in the mountains was the Onyx Guards' best bet.

Finding the cache had been difficult: It had taken hours of walking through the mountains just to spot the landmarks that signified its presence, and then at least another hour to zero in on the precise location; nevertheless, once found, the cache did not seem too difficult to assault, should a full-scale assault become necessary: It was little more than a hole in the mountainside, extending inward as a wide cave with a fairly high ceiling.

The Onyx Guards had their eyes glued on the cave mouth at an oblique angle from the ledge atop which they were perched; they had been forced to leave their ostrich horses behind hours ago, but that had been expected, and as earthbenders, they were quite used to walking on rugged terrain.

Nothing seemed to be happening at the moment, but Ji had decided that doing some recon before moving in would be advisable. It never hurt to know more about one's enemy…

The cache had been silent for half an hour, though there were two men sitting outside the mouth of the cave, playing a rather boisterous game of Pai Sho — ringed by boxes so that the alpine wind did not scatter the pieces across the valley to the left, which sprawled out for at least a mile before rising up into jagged mountains again.

It was a steep drop to the bottom, with nothing but some rocky spines and a few trees at the bottom to break a fall.

Though Shun Bei was near the equator and so retained a fairly mild, wet temperature year-round, here in the mountains, the air was much crisper, and it was winter after all, so a thin layer of snow covered most everything except the valley proper, which was only grayed by a slight dusting of frost.

The men guarding the cache did not seem to mind the cooler weather, and were not even wearing longer-sleeved garments. Perhaps that suggested that they were mountaineers themselves, or that they hailed from farther north or south, where the hibernal temperatures were more extreme.

Or perhaps it meant nothing.

It didn't really matter, Ji thought: He could tell just by looking at them that these were not the firebenders he was looking for. He did not sense the kind of power and awareness that they had exuded at Huei Zhang.

But…there could be firebenders inside the cache proper, out of sight from the Onyx Guards' vantage point.

"Doesn't look like this will be too difficult," No Re Gua observed in a low voice.

"We have underestimated the firebenders before, Sergeant," Lieutenant Do Zhi upbraided him rather harshly, "It did not turn out well for us." He would know: Lieutenant Do Zhi was one of the few Onyx Guards who had survived the attack on Cell Block D, along with Ji.

"The lieutenant is right," the captain agreed quietly, "We must be on guard."

"We're not going to learn anything more from sitting up here, though," Sergeant Ru Fuang, who had also been at Huei Zhang, though in Cell Block B at the time, added in.

"Also correct," Ji said, "Ru Fuang, No Re Gua — bows at the ready. Take out the two guards on my mark, and then cover the rest of us as we move in on the cache."

The Onyx Guards nodded, and Ru Fuang and No Re Gua drew short bows from their backs, notching arrows to the bowstrings and standing by; meanwhile, Yuan Po, Do Zhi, and Ji Chen Gren took up positions at the very edge of the ledge atop which they were perched.

Ji lifted his hand…and then brought it down in a sharp gesture that signaled for the team to move: He and the two other earthbenders beside him pushed off from the rocks beneath their feet, using earthbending to launch themselves forward through the air, soaring towards the cave where the firebenders' cache was hidden.

Before they were even halfway to the ledge, they heard the tiniest of _twangs_ behind them, and there was a whipping sound as two arrows lanced past them, burying themselves into the guards' necks below. The three earthbenders hit the ground, combining bending with shoulder rolls to soften what otherwise would have been a very damaging impact, quickly ascertaining that the two guards were dead before taking up positions just outside the cave mouth.

Ji gave his men another signal, and the three of them darted into the cave, fanning out and moving rapidly inside, scanning for enemies…

There were several: Men and women of varying stature and build were scattered about the cave, amongst dozens of crates and barrels that Ji supposed contained the contraband that they were looking for.

The transaction had not yet taken place: These had to be the Jing Po marauders.

They had not yet noticed the Onyx Guards' presence: They were too busy going through the crates around them, apparently taking stock of the wares they had recently purchased. There were only a few lanterns inside the cave, concentrated in the center, along with the marauders themselves, so there were plenty of shadows at the periphery in which the earthbenders could hide.

There was no sign of any firebenders, though they would be unlikely to be wearing Fire Nation clothing; the marauders were all wearing the same kind of drab, weatherworn tunics and other loose garbs, covered in straps and belts to which many different satchels, tools, and weapons were attached, none of which appeared to be of Fire Nation origin.

Ji did not need to signal Yuan Po or Do Zhi what to do: That had already been laid out beforehand. They would eliminate these marauders with merciless, brutal force, and then they would investigate the crates and barrels around them, to determine what kind of contraband was being smuggled. If they were lucky, something here would link the marauders to the Fire Nation, and that would bring them one step closer to tracking down the firebenders who had attacked Huei Zhang. If not, then they would stake out this cache for a little while and see who came nosing around.

Ji would initiate the attack; until he made his move, the other two earthbenders would hold back.

Ji snaked his way through a particularly shadowy maze of crates, coming up to the edge of the circle of firelight at the center of the cave; he counted eight marauders there, clustered in two groups of three and an additional group of two. He knew that Yuan Po was off to his right, and Do Zhi to his left.

He had trained with these soldiers for months and months; he did not even need to see them to know that they were ready and waiting for his signal.

_Time to finish the job_, he thought. After all, it was only a matter of time before one of these marauders spotted the two dead bodies just outside the cave…

Captain Ji Chen Gren tapped the ground lightly with his foot, eructing several small, pointed stones, which, with a sequence of rapid-fire jabs, he sent hurtling towards the lanterns that lit the cache: The rock bolts struck them with enough force to extinguish their flames and send them scattering across the cave, clanging against the stone floor.

The marauders jumped as they were suddenly plunged into near-total darkness, the sharp mountain sunlight from outside barely penetrating to the cave depths; Ji moved again, using the vibrations in the earth as his guide, firing off three more, larger bolts of rock: The pointed stones lanced straight through three marauders' necks, dropping their bodies to the ground like marionettes with cut strings.

He sensed Yuan Po coming up on his right, striking down enemies as he came; Do Zhi was doing the same on his left. The remaining five marauders in the center were beginning to respond, most of them drawing swords, daggers, or more exotic bladed weapons, but a few Ji could tell were earthbenders by the way they were adopting low, rooted stances and spreading their weaponless hands out loosely before them.

They did not appear to be skilled enough to sense the subtle vibrations that Ji and his men were sending through the earth, so they remained unmoving, likely for fear of hitting their comrades or their cargo with an earthbending attack.

Ji Chen Gren had no such dilemma: He darted forward into the center of the cave, translating his momentum into the eruption of a boulder from the earth, bringing it in a violent arc and crashing it down on top of one of the earthbenders, crushing him against the floor of the cave.

Blood spattered through the air, but Ji missed most of it: He was already shifting tack, moving away from his former position as the nonbenders closed on the source of the noise, shouting to each other to try and keep track of who was friend and who was foe in the darkness.

It would not help.

Ji came up behind one of the original trios he had spotted before extinguishing the lanterns; it had remained intact following his attack, and now he would take them all out like clockwork.

The Onyx Guard captain seized the rearmost marauder of the group, locking him into a figure-four hold and dragging him back away from his friends before snapping his neck with a swift and practiced crank of the arm; his comrades did not even notice until his body had already dropped to the ground, and Ji was on top of them.

The first fell to a swift punch to the throat, collapsing his airway, and the second attempted to drive his blade through Ji's gut, missing by a mile and falling to the ground hard as Ji swept out his legs with a low kick. He turned and lifted his hand, erecting a spine of rock from the ground directly beneath the man's throat, boring through it and killing him.

Ji could sense another trio in front of him, now coming towards the sound of the tussle, their arm movements suggesting that they bore blades; one of them lunged at Ji, jabbing with one hand, and the earthbender captain reflexively twisted away, fluidly seizing the hand as it passed and wrenching it in such a way that the rotation was propagated up the arm, twisting the man's shoulder and forcing him to simultaneously drop his weapon – a knife, as Ji had suspected – and turn on the spot to relieve the pressure.

Ji shoved the marauder into one of his friends, sending both to the ground in a rough tumble and clattering of metal on stone as the third marauder closed in. He launched a broad swipe of the arm; Ji could tell by the man's vibrations that the shift in weight corresponded to a heavier weapon, likely a sword.

Ji ducked and darted forward, inside the dead zone of the blade, which, sure enough, was definitely a sword, judging from the dull whoosh of air it made as Ji passed under it; Ji pivoted on his foot and then shifted it back as he wrapped one arm around the man's shoulder, using the other to seize his sword hand. With a second pivot from his rear foot, Ji had flung the man to the floor, retaining his grip on his sword hand to immobilize the weapon.

It was, from there, a simple matter of twisting and delivering a forceful heel stomp to the marauder's face, crushing through bone and blood and flesh and driving enough force into the brain to kill him.

As Ji released the man's arm, which let the sword fall uselessly to the ground with a clang, he immediately jumped sideways to avoid retaliation from one of the first two marauders, who had by now recovered from their disarray.

Ji took a quick hop backwards, drew one leg up and back, and then jabbed it powerfully back down into the ground, sinking his weight into it and transferring the power into a spine of rock that erupted from the earth, spearing one marauder straight through the thoracic cavity.

The vibrations of the attack knocked the other marauder off-balance, and Ji darted in quickly, delivering a vicious side kick to the man's knee, collapsing it with a violent crack and sending him toppling to the floor. Before he could move, another spine of rock lanced up through his throat.

Ji straightened and paused, "listening" to the vibrations traveling through his feet: He could "see" the bodies of over a dozen marauders littering the dim cave floor, but the only things moving were Yuan Po and Do Zhi. He would know their footsteps anywhere.

"Clear here," the latter called from the left.

"Ditto," Yuan Po echoed.

"Same," Ji growled.

"I have a live one here," Do Zhi added, dragging a man across the floor towards Ji.

Wordlessly, Yuan Po joined Ji and crouched down, fiddling with something in a satchel on his belt; there was the sound of rocks striking one another, a spark, and suddenly a flame burst into life, introducing a dull orange light into the cave.

Yuan Po stood next to Ji, holding his little torch aloft.

Do Zhi deposited the marauder he had captured at Ji's feet; Ji looked at him: He wasn't the most impressive specimen, was dirty and unkempt, and had the look of a kid who had been abandoned to the marauder life at a young age. There was still something boyish and innocent in his pale green eyes.

"Who are you?" Ji Chen Gren asked him.

"K-Ko Lu," the boy replied.  
"Ko Lu, I'm going to ask you some questions. You answer them honestly, you live. You don't, you die. Deal?"

"D-Deal."

"First question: You and your dead pals here, you're from the Jing Po, yeah?"

"Y-Yes."

"All right. Next question: All these crates and stuff — it's contraband that you recently acquired, yes?"

"Y-Yes."

"How? And from whom?"

"T-Traded…for coin. From Fung Co. He's a middle-level black market man — buys and sells lots of things in Shun Bei."

"And how did he conduct the transaction?"

"All through middlemen — sent his underlings to bring the goods up here, then dispatched us a message that they had been delivered. We paid half the money up front, with the other half to be sent once we'd confirmed that the goods were all accounted for. That's what we were doing…" The kid paused nervously, as though unsure if he should add something; he finally decided to: "H-He's gonna be real mad if we don't send him that second payment!"

"That is the least of your concerns right now," Ji reminded him coldly. "This Fung Co," he continued briskly in case the boy felt like whining again, "where does he get his supply?"

The kid stared at him as if he had suddenly sprouted a second head.

"A-Are you kidding?! He's a black market dealer! You start asking questions like that on the black market, you get a knife in the back!"

"So that's all you know about Fung Co?" Ji asked him impatiently.

"Y-Yeah — guys like that keep their secrets close, y'know."

So the firebenders were working through a middleman — this Fung Co character. Smart. Using a black market go-between would keep their exact movements murky and their sources protected. Of course, secrets could be bought and sold on the black market just like any other commodity…

Yes, they would find Fung Co and _convince_ him to part with his secrets about his Fire Nation employers. After all, King Gaozhan's information linked the firebenders to this cache, and from the sound of it, Fung Co was familiar with the locale, so odds were that he had used it before. That aligned with the notion that the Fire Nation was using this cache as a springboard for illicit ventures in the Earth Kingdom.

That was a start.

That was all they needed.

"If that's the case," Ji said crisply, "then you have exhausted your usefulness."

Without another word, he drove a spike of rock up from the earth beneath the kid's neck, boring straight through his windpipe and carotid sheaths. The shock had barely registered on the young marauder's face before the life left it forever.

Some of the blood had spattered onto Ji's face; he wiped it off, sneering in disgust.

"Sir, we have a little snag here," came Do Zhi's voice; while Ji had been interrogating the marauder, with Yuan Po standing by to provide light by his torch, the lieutenant had been meandering around the cache, poking through crates and barrels.

"What?"

"This contraband…it's Earth Kingdom, not Fire Nation. There's nothing here to link it to firebenders in any way."

"What?" Ji repeated, though he wasn't totally surprised: The romantic notion that this bit of (in the long run) insignificant contraband would provide them the necessary link to the firebenders that they were looking for had always been a longshot at best.

But from the sound of Do Zhi's voice, the link was even more tenuous than they had anticipated.

"What do you mean, _it's Earth Kingdom?_" Ji continued.

"It's all military matériel, all marked with the seal of the Hu Xin provinces. Looks like the firebenders hit a military convoy farther up north, stole the goods, and resold them to Fung Co."

Ji Chen Gren swore angrily.

These firebenders were crafty: Raiding an Earth Kingdom military convoy was technically risky, but if it could be pulled off properly (and Ji had seen enough of these firebenders' skill firsthand to know that they could do it), both Taku and Ba Sing Se would regard it as just another marauder attack and think little more of it; meanwhile, the firebenders would redistribute the weapons to the black market — turning a pretty penny, probably getting some information or contacts in return, too, and then putting those weapons right in the hands of the marauders whom the Earth Kingdom would already suspect of having stolen them in the first place.

A neat little scheme…one that would make it very difficult to track them down through their contraband.

It looked like now their only lead was Fung Co.

It was time to visit Shun Bei proper.

* * *

Normally, Köna enjoyed rough-and-tumble ports chock full of pirates and conmen – they were always just so much _fun_ – but Shun Bei had become a little bit too seedy for his tastes. He had lost count of how many of the alleys he had passed had sported bloodstains on the stones, or were hosting an ongoing mugging.

The police in this city were a joke — they had been bought up for years, and the port brought in too much wealth for the Earth Kingdom – mostly through illicit profiteering and smuggling out of the Fire Nation – for the higher-ups in Taku who technically had charge of it to care.

Besides that, the police in the Earth Kingdom at large were notoriously incompetent when it came to the black market: They had never been able to combat it effectively, and several scandals had left public opinion of their efforts at an all-time low.

Perhaps he should leave soon…

Köna's thoughts were interrupted by his growling stomach: He had not eaten since yesterday morning, over twenty-four hours before, and it was difficult finding a place where he could "earn" some coins for a meal without starting a riot or nearly getting himself killed.

He didn't fancy dying over lunch…

"Oof!"

"Watch where you're going, kid!" the man snapped at him as Köna picked himself up from having bumped into him on the street. He appeared to be one of the few people in Shun Bei who had more than a handful of coins to his name: His clothes were nicer than ordinary, and he had a distinctly pompous look about him.

"I'm sorry, sir," Köna replied with hasty penitence, giving the man a respectful bow and holding it until he walked away, muttering angrily under his breath.

Köna smirked as he straightened up, furtively pocketing the little bag of coins he had picked from the man's pocket as he passed.

Well, it appeared that lunch would be taken care of.

* * *

"What do you think of the great city of Ba Sing Se?" Earth King Weizin asked him luxuriously, sweeping his hand in a grand gesture as they rode the earthbending-propelled train towards the Middle Ring.

Kasori had to admit: Ba Sing Se was an impressive place. The sweeping farmland that had taken them hours upon hours to cross, the immense walls, dozens of meters thick and even more meters high, the quaint, irregular, but neat little earthen homes all compacted together like stitches in a vast cloth of human settlement — it was all very elegant and majestic.

Of course, the Lower Ring wasn't exactly the nicest-looking place Kasori had ever seen: Even as they rocketed by in the safe confines of the train, elevated well above ground level, he could discern the strife and dolor that plagued this poorest area of the city. The streets that flashed by were unpaved, dirty, and clogged with artisans and merchants going about their business, which was likely, in the case of nearly half of them, illegal or otherwise scurrilous. The buildings around them were often ramshackle and were covered in filthy brown tiles that in many places appeared to be full of holes.

"It's a unique place," Kasori surmised neutrally to the Earth King.

"Very much so," Weizin acknowledged. They sat in silence a moment as the royal convoy whipped along the earthen tracks, headed for the Middle Ring, and then Weizin spoke again: "I must say, I'm impressed that you were able to so easily assuage your parents' concerns for you. Not many parents would permit their child to undertake a perilous journey throughout an entirely different continent, even at the request of the Earth King!"

He paused meaningfully, and Kasori could feel the king's chestnut eyes boring through his back.

"They must have great faith in you," he finished quietly.

Yes, his parents had always had a lot of faith in him. Like most Water Tribe youths, he had shouldered a lot of responsibilities even as a young child, and that hadn't changed throughout adolescence.

Even so, convincing his father hadn't been fun: Banaq did not trust the Earth King – or the Earth Kingdom in general, for that matter – due to all the corruption he saw in his frequent trade voyages, and he did not like the idea of Kasori going off on the Earth King's little "journey."

His mother had been easier to convince: She had merely smiled knowingly at him and given him a hug before wishing him the best. She had always been unrestrainedly supportive of him, even if she didn't understand what he was doing.

Kasori had sometimes wondered, from the way her eyes always twinkled when she sent him off on these little trips, whether she had known all along about his deepest secret…whether she had always known, even from his infancy.

If she did, she gave no sign.

Either way, she had always seemed to understand him a bit better than his father, who loved him dearly but had never really grasped the way his mind worked. Nevertheless, he had always been supportive of his son, too.

Kasori really was grateful that his parents were so understanding — heck, he could've ended up with Nattut for a father.

_Poor Unukk…_

Saying goodbye to Unukk and Henyara had been even less pleasant: He had never been apart from both of them at the same time for very long in his entire life, and this promised to be a long journey.

Unukk, like his usual quiescent self, had merely hugged him and bidden him good luck; Henyara had been stuffier about it, making it very clear that she was miffed that the Earth King had not requested her presence as well, since she had been with Kasori on most of the escapades throughout the northern ports…but in the end, she had hugged him and wished him well, too.

He wondered what they would be doing at the North Pole without him…

They had all three turned fifteen recently, so they were legally adults by Water Tribe law; that opened several doors for them, so who knew what they were up to.

But he brought his mind back from the North Pole: Weizin was obviously expecting a reply…

"Independence is important in the Water Tribe," Kasori told the Earth King.

"Yes, yes, it is — a remarkable culture, I must say. I've always admired it, and wished that I could incorporate aspects of it into the Earth Kingdom. But the Earth Kingdom is not as, ah, socially flexible, shall we say, as the Water Tribe. It is not in the nature of earth to shift and mold readily to its environment. Not like water.

"And then, of course," he added, "you technically did not even need your parents' consent, did you? You're an adult under Water Tribe law. Also a remarkable custom — you know, there are many fifteen-year-olds here in my kingdom that do not know the first thing about adulthood."

That was easy to believe, though from the look of it, such children did not reside heavily in the Lower Ring: Even as he watched, Kasori saw a street flash by where, even in the few seconds it was visible, he could see a young boy, who could not have been older than thirteen, robbing a genteel-looking (for the Lower Ring, anyway) woman.

They reached the Middle Ring in silence, passing through the wall that separated it from the Lower Ring, and immediately, Kasori could detect the difference: The buildings were cleaner, not so packed, and had green tiles, not muddy brown ones; the streets were paved and swept; and the people here had a decidedly blithe and sophisticated air about them.

"Our first stop is Ba Singe Se University," Earth King Weizin told him, "One of the two others who will be accompanying you and my son on this journey is a student there."

Now _that_ Kasori found odd: A mere _student_ was to act as a convoy to the prince of the Earth Kingdom? And Earth King Weizin had consented to that?

Well, he supposed that _he_ himself was just a young Water Tribe man, not even a student at the university — though he _had_ read a lot of books in his fifteen years…

Ba Sing Se University was an impressive place: When the train pulled up to a station directly across the main gate, beyond which the various grand, imposing structures of the campus could be seen reaching for the heavens above, a man in equally impressive robes of green and gold met Kasori, Weizin, and their accompaniment of four Royal Earthbenders.

The man bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty!" he cried in a voice that was shrill and faint at the same time, "The university and this humble servant are honored by your presence! May your reign be forever blessed, and may your visit endow us all with good fortune!"

Kasori thought that an odd thing to say: Why should the Earth King's presence bestow good luck on the university? And for that matter, why was he being so ingratiating, and abasing himself as if he were in the presence of a deity?

Oh, that was it, wasn't it? He had read before that the Earth Kingdom had traditionally viewed the Earth King as a god of sorts. The tradition had seen some weakening under Weizin's rather down-to-earth leadership, but old habits died hard…

Kasori wasn't particularly fond of that tradition: Whatever this man's abilities or virtues, he was certainly not a god of any kind. He was still but a man in Kasori's eyes. He sensed, however, that it would be best not to flout the custom directly, so he merely held his tongue as the Earth King addressed the servile man fawning before him:

"Headmaster Yuo Chu, it has been far too long since I have visited your magnificent establishment here. It is as lovely as ever. I hope the message we dispatched reached you in good time: We have come to see Milana."

_Milana?_ Was that the person of whom the king had spoken, the one who was to come with Kasori and the prince and one other on this journey around the kingdom? It wasn't a very Earth Kingdom name…

"Oh, yes, indeed, Great Earth King, long may you reign! Milana awaits Your Royal Highness in the Grand Hall of Ho Ming." Kasori knew enough about the university to know that the Grand Hall of Ho Ming was the large, central entrance building directly across the courtyard immediately inside the gate. It was the first building of the university to be built, and had been dedicated to the university's founder, Ho Ming the Great.

"Very good, Headmaster. We shall head thither posthaste."

"Of course, Your Majesty — long may you reign, and may all your days be blessed!" The man stepped aside, bowing profusely as he did, not stopping until they had all passed, trooping through the entrance gate and swiftly crossing the courtyard.

They were getting stares, though Kasori supposed that that was to be expected: Students and teachers and other university staff all around the courtyard were pausing to look as the Earth King walked their grounds; many of them fell down in bows, though some did not. Now that Kasori thought about it, this was a very low-key reception for the Earth King: Weizin had not wanted to attract attention.

In the absolute sense, he was failing: By the time they were halfway across the courtyard, making for the white marble steps of the Grand Hall of Ho Ming, _everyone_ around them was staring intently…and Kasori realized that they weren't just staring at the Earth King.

They were staring at him, too.

He wondered why: Sure, he probably looked a little out of place in his blue Water Tribe garbs, but that was certainly no justification for the amount of gawking he was receiving. Perhaps they had heard the rumors that Weizin had mentioned to him back at the North Pole, and recognized him for his green eyes…?

Whatever the cause of the ogling, Kasori didn't like it. He was thankful when they finally ascended the steps and entered the Grand Hall.

Inside was a cavernous, well, hall, lined on the left and right with doors of polished wood that, from what Kasori understood, led to various clerical and managerial offices; the floors were of the same clean white marble from which the steps outside had been fashioned; and at the far end of the hall was an enormous staircase that rose up and then diverged perpendicularly to the left and right, leading to upstairs rooms.

The hall was surprisingly empty; perhaps the offices were closed, or no one was in need of their services; either way, the only person in the Grand Hall was a young woman who was sitting on the third step of the great marble stairs.

As the Earth King and his Royal Earthbenders led to the way over to her, Kasori scrutinized her, supposing that she must be Milana: She was a woman of impressive stature, thin and lithe, to the point of felinity. She had long, thick hair of a lustrous, obsidian black drawn back in a topknot that appeared both incredibly unkempt and strangely elegant at the same time; and her gray eyes shone behind glass spectacles that she wore.

The young woman spotted them easily as they crossed the hall, and smiled as she stood to greet them. There was something familiarly wolfish about her smile, though it was at the same time almost juvenile, like that of a little girl about to receive a piece of candy.

For some reason, Kasori felt extremely suspicious and on guard all of a sudden.

"The mighty Earth King!" the woman cried in a loud, clear voice that also rang with familiarity; she gave a grandiloquent, obviously affected bow with a theatrical flourish of the hand, and then sprang back up into upright position, eyes gleaming keenly behind her glasses.

They fell immediately on Kasori.

"Milana, a pleasure as always to meet the university's top student," Earth King Weizin returned her greeting much more sedately, though with a smile that was surprisingly warm.

Milana's hand jumped to her chest, as though the king's remark had sent a wave of emotion through her.

"Oh, dear majesty, the great Earth King flatters me with his kindness!" she crooned, adding another though thankfully more civilized bow to her words; however, her eyes never seemed to leave Kasori, on whom they were definitely fixed the moment she stopped speaking.

"This is the waterbender I spoke of," Weizin added; Milana's eyes flashed almost hungrily, and for some reason, Kasori's hand twitched faintly, as though to reflexively reach for his bone knife.

What was it about this woman that was so hauntingly familiar?

"Yes, I see…" Milana murmured excitedly, staring at Kasori with a gaze so intense that it would have carved through solid rock. Her eyes flitted up and down as she scanned his entire person, and without warning she began to pace around him thoughtfully, examining him from all angles. Kasori stood stock-still, his entire body tensed and ready for action — though he hadn't the faintest idea of what _kind_; he followed her with his eyes to keep her in sight as much as possible without appearing overtly unfriendly.

"A fine specimen," the woman pronounced. Kasori thought that was an extremely odd thing to say, and he wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel complimented or offended.

"Traditional Water Tribe garbs…" Milana was muttering, still circling around him, "…very clean, he must take good care of himself…stitching is _beautiful_…"

Earth King Weizin coughed somewhat indiscreetly, and Milana jumped, as though she had suddenly been snapped out of a reverie. And then she began to laugh — well, cackle was a better word: It was like a chorus of inebriated birds chirruping all at once.

She laughed for what had to have been several seconds, so hard that tears eventually came from her eyes — and then just as abruptly, she snapped back to attention again, calming immediately and then giving Kasori a beaming smile (she had finally stopped pacing around him in circles).

"I'm sorry, I've completely skipped the introductions, haven't I?" she asked with a giggle, as though it were the silliest, funniest thing in the world. "I am Milana."

Just as Kasori was about to reply, he spotted something: Her garbs were very ordinary and were in a fairly typical dark green, but something girding her waist was incongruent with the rest of her attire…

"You're from the Fire Nation, aren't you?" Kasori asked rather abruptly. Milana looked surprised, but she laughed again, this time shorter, and then thumped his shoulder playfully.

"My, my, you _are_ a smart one! What gave it away?" she asked eagerly. Kasori pointed to her waist.

"That sash you're wearing is made of dragon scales — not exactly Earth Kingdom haute couture."

Milana laughed yet again: "And _observant_, too! Fantastic! Yes, my good Water Tribesman, I am indeed from the Fire Nation — studying in residence here at the university!"

"Milana is the best and brightest," Weizin continued, "She has been studying anthropology and political science here for two years now, after studying for four years at the Fire Nation's most prestigious schools."

"_Milana_ is an unusual name in the Fire Nation, isn't it?" Kasori asked, couching his question so that it sounded innocent, though he wondered whether his eyes betrayed his suspicion.

"Indeed it is," Milana affirmed slyly, "but then again, I could say the same of you: Modern Water Tribe names almost never end in _i_ — it's Qulecke, isn't it?"

"I'm impressed," Kasori admitted; no one had ever guessed that about his name before, not even _in_ the Water Tribe. Very few in the Capital knew anything of the language.

"Yes…_k'a_ is the word for _moon_, of course, but _sori_…?"

"It means _warrior_," Kasori completed for her. She beamed.

"Ah, of course! And obviously monosyllabic roots with ejective onsets become pulmonic in compounds… _Moon warrior_…what a perfect name for a waterbender!"

"That's why my mother named me that," Kasori shared. It was true: He had been born in the middle of a blizzard, during the thick of winter, under a full moon — and he had waterbent before they had even named him. So, his mother, who had been born in one of the few villages farther towards the pole that actually still spoke Qulecke, had decided to give him the name _Kasori_.

"Yes, yes…may I see your knife?" she asked suddenly, her eyes falling excitedly on the handle of the weapon, just visible protruding from his hip.

"Uh…" He didn't really want to hand over a blade to her — he still had no idea why she seemed so eerily familiar…

"Please!" she begged, "I will be exceedingly careful — I'm an anthropologist, after all!" Well, that was true, and a bone knife would be just the sort of thing that would interest an anthropologist.

Kasori drew it and handed it over.

"Careful," he advised as she took it earnestly and began to run her fingers lightly across the pearly white surface, "it's very sharp."

"Oh, yes, I can see…of course, all Water Tribe weapons are…part of the culture, yes…"

Suddenly, she began twirling the knife through her fingers and from one hand to the other, and Kasori, though surprised, had to admit that she was very good with a blade; it was almost mesmerizing to watch her whirl it around, scrutinizing it with her aquiline eyes as it flew.

She finished with a flourish, holding the knife gently against the palm of her hand, blade angled down and nearly parallel with her forearm.

"Exquisite balance and craftsmanship," she cried, handing the knife back to Kasori, who sheathed it. "Did you carve it yourself?"

"No, my father did — it was a birthday present when I turned twelve."

"Is that a regular custom?" she asked eagerly.

"Sort of — falling out of prevalence, though…"

"You must tell me all about it!" she insisted zealously; the sudden passion in her eyes startled him too much to respond.

Earth King Weizin cleared his throat rather conspicuously.

"If I may interject," he said quite dryly, "we must get going back to the palace."

"Ah, yes, of course!" Milana cried emphatically. "I'm the first stop — how delightful! You have so much more to see, Kasori," she told him hintingly.

As they made their way out of the Grand Hall of Ho Ming and crossed the courtyard back towards the train station, Kasori's curiosity overwhelmed him:

"You and your family must be fairly high on the social ladder for you to be able to study here," he observed to Milana. She smiled wolfishly.

"You could say that."

He found that reply oddly terse, particularly given how loquacious she had been in the last few minutes, but he had to keep going: He thought he had finally discerned the source of that haunting familiarity that had been plaguing him since the moment he had laid eyes on her.

"This may be out of the blue, but indulge me: Would you happen to know Crown Princess Li Wa?"

They boarded the train, and Milana looked at him; her gray eyes flashed behind her glasses, which she adjusted meticulously on the bridge of her nose before replying quite calmly:

"Of course — she's my sister."


	21. Bk II, Ch 3, The Royal Palace

**VOLUME I: **_**TO BE AN AVATAR**_

**Book II: **_**Journeys**_

**Chapter 3: **_**The Royal Palace**_

Well, leaving Shun Bei wouldn't be as easy as just flying off into the sunset, Köna had decided: The money he had swiped from that man was certainly enough to cover his next meal, but it would not be enough for the supplies that would be required to travel in any direction out of the city. There were just no other major settlements that close by.

So, he would have to make some more money — or else do some people some favors in direct exchange for supplies. It wouldn't be the first time he had done that. But he preferred money: It was easier to manage, and if he spent it frugally, which he always did, he could end up with a surplus that would be useful in the future.

And where did one go when one needed money in Shun Bei? The underworld, of course.

This would not be Köna's first foray into the criminal underbelly of the Earth Kingdom — quite the contrary, actually, he had virtually grown up in it. It was so much more entertaining than hanging around the Southern Air Temple, where he had been born and spent his first six years. He had some friends here in Shun Bei who could probably hook him up with some work. The black market was always looking for transient labor to pull off odd jobs, especially in a port, where cargo had to be moved and packaged and unpackaged all the time.

And it's not like anyone would care about an Air Nomad wanting to get involved in illegal labor — not after Jihueng, anyway…

Yep, that's what he would do. Ironically, these odd jobs paid pretty well – after all, the black market had to keep incentive high enough to prevent people from snitching, not that that would do much good in this particular port – so it wouldn't take too long.

Köna smiled as he changed direction and made his way cheerfully down the streets of Shun Bei. It was, after all, a beautiful winter day.

* * *

"You're Li Wa's _sister?_" Kasori asked, completely shocked. He could not remember a time when he had been so taken aback.

"Never heard of me?" Milana asked lightly; she cackled. "I'm not surprised. I kept my princess-ness to myself when I lived in the Fire Nation. Li Wa was always the political one — well, I always loved political science, I just didn't like the mundane duties of being a princess. Li Wa's the elder, the one who's slated to take over the throne anyway, and she loves being a ruler, so it works out perfectly!"

"I…I had no idea Li Wa even had a sister," Kasori muttered, utterly flabbergasted. Reason told him that there was no reason to have assumed otherwise in the first place, but it felt odd to think of cold, brutal Li Wa being related to _anyone_ — especially not someone as obviously…kooky…as this woman.

"She doesn't talk about me much," Milana observed quite sunnily, "nor I about her. It's an arrangement we worked out a long time ago. We were always so different, my sister and I."

_No kidding_.

"Of course, we weren't _total_ opposites: Both of us are firebenders, for instance."

_That_ Kasori found surprising: Milana just didn't strike him as the firebending type, perhaps because her passion seemed so volatile and multidirectional, not focused and channeled like other firebenders'. Of course, he supposed he couldn't stereotype all firebenders like that — after all, Henyara was quite impassioned and hotheaded, but she was a waterbender. Waterbenders were supposed to be calm, patient, and flexible.

The train had left the station by now and was rocketing through the Middle Ring towards the Upper Ring; but Kasori wasn't seeing any of it: He was too absorbed in his thoughts.

Now he understood why she had seemed so disturbingly familiar — the lupine smiles, the aura of power and confidence, the statuesque build…they were all carbon copies of Li Wa. Except this woman made them seem eccentric and, in a way, strangely charming, whereas with Li Wa they were simply intimidating and stark.

"You seem like total opposites to me," Kasori muttered without thinking.

"You've met my sister?" Milana asked, surprised.

_Oh boy, have I…_

"Once or twice," he replied shortly. That was technically true — he had only really encountered her two times.

"Mm…then you can probably barely believe we're related, right?" she asked seriously.

"Less than barely," Kasori admitted.

"Yes, that's understandable. What do you think of her?"

A more loaded question Kasori had never encountered. What did he think of Li Wa? He had a _lot_ of thoughts about the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation, but he did not think that he could articulate them in words, particularly not to her _sister_.

"She's…unique — and…intriguing."

It was lame, and Milana apparently knew it: She laughed hysterically and thumped him several times on the shoulder in her elation.

"Yes, she does have that effect on people!" she managed to splutter, still laughing. After taking a few seconds to calm herself, Milana continued genially, "Li Wa has always been rather stark and intense, even as a little girl. She's always taken her duties as princess _very_ seriously."

That was the understatement of the century.

"I, on the other hand," Milana continued, "have always been fairly carefree when it comes to political responsibilities. After all, Li Wa's had that earmarked for herself since she was born, and our father is just as happy that I don't want to sit on the throne." She laughed again. "Everybody wins!"

"What was it like?" Kasori found himself asking in a flat voice, almost as though he were entranced, "Growing up with her, I mean?"

"Well, if I had a gold piece for every sour look I got just between the ages of eight and nine, I would be richer than His Majesty over here!" Milana chortled, pointing rather unceremoniously at the Earth King, who ignored the reference and continued to stare out the window of the train.

"But in all seriousness," she continued, subduing herself somewhat, "you shouldn't entertain the impression that Li Wa was some kind of abnormal, oppressed girl with a terrible childhood. Quite the opposite: She and I had a very happy upbringing in the Fire Nation, though we never knew our mother — we were born only a couple years apart, you see, and she died giving birth to me.

"Li Wa was always the serious, hyper-responsible, somewhat cold person you've met. That's just who she is. But there's a light side to her, Kasori. I promise you: _No one_ in the Fire Nation – not even our father…or me – cares about the people as much as she does. She would give everything she has for her country, without reservation, in a heartbeat."

Yeah, well, he had guessed that, but it was reassuring that Li Wa's own sister – who likely knew her better than anyone on the planet – vouched for her humanity. But there was still something about her that unnerved him.

"She has a kind of strength that neither I nor my father possess," Milana continued; she had closed her eyes and bowed her head, and there was a faint smile on her lips, as though she were envisioning her sister behind her eyelids. "The Fire Nation is in very good hands with her as its Crown Princess."

Perhaps that was so…but Kasori wondered whether the _world_ was in good hands with her as the Crown Princess.

Well, he supposed that the world wasn't Li Wa's responsibility: It was his.

The Avatar's.

* * *

"What did you find out?" Captain Ji Chen Gren asked Ru Fuang and Yuan Po as they joined their three comrades where the latter had, for the last hour, been skulking in the darkest corner of a dingy tea establishment near the docks of Shun Bei.

"Fung Co is bringing in a shipment of goods from the northern Fire Nation today," Ru Fuang reported quietly, "He will be enlisting a lot of local labor to unpack the goods."

"We got the location from one of his recruiters," Yuan Po added, "He told us that if we're interested in the job, we should meet him at sundown at another teashop near the docks."

"It is likely a rendezvous point," Ru Fuang explained, "owned by Fung Co and used to gather hired help before they're transported to the actual job site. It would hamper attempts at a sting by the police."

"Not like the police in this town particularly care," Yuan Po scoffed.

"Do we know if Fung Co is actually going to be there?" Lt. Do Zhi asked suspiciously. "He's middle management, isn't he? Won't he just have some underlings supervising the job?"

"It's a distinct possibility," Yuan Po acknowledged.

"But the word on the streets is that Fung Co likes to oversee the incoming shipments himself," Ru Fuang added, "Calls it 'quality control.'"

"And even if he's a no-show," Captain Ji Chen Gren interjected, "we'll find someone there who can direct us to him."

"So what's our plan?" Do Zhi asked.

"We go to the meeting and offer our services. We'll scout the job site for Fung Co, and if he is there, we will have a little chat with him, take him down if necessary — quietly. If not, we will deal with whoever is. Once we're finished, we'll stick around a bit so as not to arouse suspicion, then we'll cut out."

The other Onyx Guards agreed.

Ji thought that they were doing pretty well for soldiers who had only marginal intelligence training. After all, this was a job that would normally have been delegated to intelligence officers, not _army_ officers. But King Gaozhan had limited resources, and the Onyx Guards were nothing if not resourceful.

That _was_ something in which soldiers had training.

And who knew? Perhaps Fung Co was the single piece of the puzzle that they would need to solve the mystery of these firebenders. That was probably optimistic, but still…

Even if not, Fung Co was still sure to point them in the right direction.

* * *

The Upper Ring was quite the majestic place: Sumptuous buildings with golden tiles that glittered in the sun lined the wide, beautifully carved streets; gorgeous parks and artificial waterways spider-webbed throughout the residential areas, while nondescript, pearly walls adorned in coats-of-arms and various topiaries enclosed the government buildings. Kasori caught sight of a military compound once, likewise girded by stone walls and barely visible through a thick, earthen gate that was opened and closed by earthbending to allow sporadic traffic passage.

The Royal Palace was even more impressive: An enormous, sprawling structure carved of the most beautiful stone and adorned in various places by the symbol of the Earth Kingdom, and surrounded by even more walls, it seemed to rise into the sky like some sort of titanic obelisk of glory, a testament to the grandeur of the mighty Earth Kingdom. The only reason it was even visible was that for a brief stretch, the train to which they had transferred (a special one accessible only to the Earth King and his immediate subordinates, running between strategic points in the Upper Ring) rose to an elevation above the outer walls.

Of course, Kasori thought that the image of grandeur would have been less specious had he not spotted so many disadvantaged paupers in the Lower Ring.

The train came to a halt very close to the southern gate of the palace; Kasori's first thought that that was a major tactical vulnerability, but his second was that the Earth King had amply prepared for that: The gate was incredibly well fortified, with Royal Earthbenders lining the walls flanking it and towers in front of it.

Just off-hand, as Weizin led them all through the gate on foot, Kasori thought he counted at least forty guards.

Beyond the gate was at least a mile of nothing but courtyard, ornamented with various small gardens and perfectly bisected by a dozen-meter-wide ceremonial walkway, paved in differently-colored stones and at various points along which there were yet more Royal Earthbenders, all of whom bowed as their king passed by.

To the left and the right, Kasori could see many government buildings enclosed within the palace walls, but the palace proper was dead ahead, beyond a small stream that ran along the entire compound's latitudinal axis.

They crossed the stream via a large, arching stone bridge, and then ascended an enormous flight of steps, reaching a colonnaded area from which the walkway continued inward, between two wings of the palace that projected southward. They followed the walkway, flanked by colonnades as they proceeded, finally coming to an enormous door of green and gold.

They passed through the door, which was sentineled by four Royal Earthbenders, coming into a large, square space where the walkway vanished and separate hallways diverged to the north, east, and west. Weizin led them down the northern hallway and through another door.

This brought them to an enormous hall down which two colonnades, quarried from the finest of stones, ran parallel to one another down the length of the corridor, forming a natural pathway towards the biggest door Kasori had ever seen: It was easily twenty meters high and was guarded by yet more Royal Earthbenders, who bowed and opened it as the king approached.

Beyond the massive door was an even more massive, cavernous chamber which contained only one apparent furnishing: a great, green-and-gold throne at the opposite end, elevated by a carpeted dais. Kasori could see a few other nondescript doors scattered about, but otherwise the room was totally empty.

Well, not quite totally empty: There was someone there.

A young man – no more than seventeen or eighteen years old – stood before the dais, pacing somewhat nervously back and forth. He had thin dark hair tied back in a very simple but elegant-looking topknot, adorned by a small headdress, in typical Earth Kingdom fashion. He wore rather nondescript robes of green, and his eyes were a rather unremarkable brown.

He was someone who would not attract the slightest bit of attention even if he were the only person around…except for one thing.

Kasori knew immediately – he wasn't sure how, but he knew – that this was Prince Mushari.

Indeed, the young man paused in his pacing as the group approached, and he turned and gave a formal bow to Earth King Weizin.

"Father," he greeted him kindly.

"Hello, my son," Weizin reciprocated in what struck Kasori as a tepid voice, "You remember Milana, of course."

"How farest thou, fair prince of the mighty Earth Kingdom?" asked Princess Milana quite floridly, embellishing her question – ironically couched in the informal _thou_ – with a dainty bow and flourish of the hand, just as she had done for his father.

Prince Mushari smiled faintly, as though he found Milana's eccentricity quaint and charming.

"I fare well, Princess Milana of the Fire Nation," he replied in a soft, ovine voice, though with a hint of the same flair with which she had greeted him, "How go your studies?"

"Devilishly exciting as always!" Milana cried in ecstatic reply.

"And this is the green-eyed waterbender you spoke so much of, Mushari," Earth King Weizin interpolated, before Milana could launch herself into an electric explanation of how exciting her academics were. Weizin gestured at Kasori, and as the prince turned to him, the Water Tribesman bowed respectfully.

"I am honored to make your acquaintance, Prince Mushari," he said with rather more respect than he had afforded the Earth King.

Mushari smiled at him, a bit more broadly than he had at Milana.

"From what I have heard, it is I who ought to be honored to meet one so brave and selfless. Please, I would be thrilled if you would simply call me Mushari."

Kasori smiled at him; something in the meekness and tame excitement in his voice struck him as cordial and down-to-earth.

"I'll make you a deal, Prince," Kasori told him, "I'll call you Mushari if you'll call me Kas. That's how my friends address me."

"It's a deal," Mushari assented, surprising Kasori by giving him a bow. Earth King Weizin did not appear particularly pleased by his son's rather plebeian behavior, but he made no mention of it.

"Fantastic!" cried Milana with an enthusiastic clap of her hands, "Now we're all friends! But…we're still missing someone, are we not?"

"Yes," Mushari affirmed, "Zan is waiting for us in the western garden."

"I must leave you then," Earth King Weizin announced, "There are matters that demand my attention." He turned to Milana. "Milana, always a pleasure." She nodded. "Kasori," the Earth King resumed, turning towards him, "I am pleased to have met you. Keep my son safe, will you?"

Kasori thought that a patronizing thing to say in front of Mushari, but the latter didn't seem bothered at all, so he simply nodded and bowed.

Earth King Weizin turned to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Mushari…I am proud of what you are doing. Be careful. Come back to me safe, all right?"

"Yes, father."

It sounded to Kasori like a contract being signed.

Earth King Weizin nodded and departed through one of the side doors, his four Royal Earthbenders accompanying him.

Mushari turned to Kasori.

"I should explain," he said. The three of them began to walk, with the prince in the lead, towards one of the western doors, which exited onto a roofless walkway flanked by the exterior walls of the palace. The path was lined with flowering plants, though it was hard to tell that since, in the middle of winter, with a light dusting of snow on the ground, they were leafless and gray. Nevertheless, Kasori could easily imagine how beautiful the path would look in springtime.

"Zan," Prince Mushari continued, obviously directing his speech to Kasori, who therefore supposed that Milana was already privy to this information, "is one of my closest childhood friends. He is the son of one of my father's top generals, and we grew up together here in the palace. Don't worry though — he's a very down-to-earth type.

"He's always been very protective of me, and when I talked to him about this venture I had in mind, he immediately insisted on accompanying me — he's a very skilled earthbender. Milana, because of her expertise in anthropology and the sociopolitical climate of the Earth Kingdom, was recently asked by my father to do the same.

"And then I heard about you, Kas: all the things you were doing for my people up in the north." Kasori noticed that the way he said _my people_ was warm and paternal, unlike the clinical and sovereign way that Earth King Weizin seemed to say it. "I was greatly intrigued — and excited that someone outside the Earth Kingdom should care so much about the wellbeing of the people here. It took me some months, but I finally plucked up the courage to broach my request to my father.

"I had, by that time, told him quite a bit about you, and so the idea of you accompanying me just seemed like a natural corollary. I was astonished that my father assented to the idea. You must have greatly impressed him, Kas."

Kasori wasn't sure what he thought about that: He didn't care in the least about what the Earth King thought of him, but objectively speaking, it was still quite a compliment.

"You cannot imagine my joy when my father sent back word that you had accepted," Mushari told him quite honestly, "I cannot thank you enough."

"I'm just glad I can do something more for the Earth Kingdom," Kasori admitted, taken aback by the prince's sudden display of gratitude, "When I was visiting those ports, doing what little I could, I was always cognizant of how much bigger the problem really was, and your father offered me an opportunity that I simply couldn't pass up."

"I wish more people had your heart, Kas," Mushari told him sadly, "Particularly in recent times, things have been degenerating rapidly here in the Earth Kingdom."

"And in the Fire Nation," Milana added seriously, "As I'm sure you're aware, Kas, it's been fifteen years since the death of Avatar Yuecu, and everyone is getting antsy over the impending revelation of the new Avatar."

_Yeah…about that…_

The unexpected mention of the Avatar caught Kasori off-guard, though he mentally punched himself for not having borne that in mind when the Earth King had made his request: After all, the coming of a new Avatar in times of trouble was always a much anticipated and greatly conflictive event. It should have been no surprise that strife would worsen with the coming of the person who might put it to an end for good.

"It is imperative," Mushari was saying, "that we come up with a strategy for combating all of the ills that plague this nation, so that when the Avatar is revealed, we will have a definite course of action prepared. The Avatar is only one person after all, and he or she really is just a guide, a guardian slated to ensure that things do not get too out of control. The daily minutiae of maintaining order are _our_ responsibility."

"I wish more people thought _that_ way," Kasori admitted. He had heard the chatter in some of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation ports about the coming Avatar: how people hoped that he or she would somehow magically save them from all of their problems.

He didn't like having that responsibility thrust upon him: It was his job to fight evils and maintain balance and peace as best he could, not satiate the whims of everyone who had things a little rough.

"It would certainly make things easier all around," Mushari observed with a whimsical smile; they passed through a door at the opposite end of the promenade, finding themselves outside proper: A stone path ran from the door off to the west, curving gently through little hills and around the peripheries of quaint gardens. The grass to the left and right was dusted gray with snow.

The prince led them along the path, rubbing his arms together as a biting wind whipped at them from the southwest. Kasori saw that Milana did not seem to mind, which was peculiar, since she was from the Fire Nation, which was rarely ever this cold. Then again, she studied anthropology, and she was familiar with Water Tribe customs and languages, so she had likely visited the polar regions and was acquainted with the lower temperatures.

"So," Kasori began after a few minutes' silence, "I know that the idea is to survey the Earth Kingdom to get a picture of what kinds of problems need to be dealt with, and where. But, forgive my abruptness, do we have a plan for actually…_doing_ that? I mean, the Earth Kingdom is the largest nation in the world, after all…"

Milana laughed. "I like you!" she informed him, giving him a friendly slap on the shoulder, "Always thinking!"

"In fact, there _is_ a plan," Mushari answered him, smiling over his shoulder at Milana's kookiness, "I had started sketching an itinerary many months ago, but once Milana joined our little team, she jumpstarted that effort tremendously: Her familiarity with the sociopolitical landscape of the Earth Kingdom is, I am ashamed to admit, far superior to my own. Of course, that's the point of the journey, I guess — so that I, and by extension, my father, can get a grasp of the situation.

"Anyway, Milana has developed a full itinerary which will take us from here to the Lower Ring, and from there, west by southwest, through the Serpent's Pass, towards the city of Taku, but skirting south of it, returning southeast and then up to the northern outskirts of the Si Wong Desert. We'll take a sharp turn south through the Carmine Path, straight through the heart of the desert, and that'll bring us to the Changcheng Mountains, which we'll circumvent to the west and follow on the southern edge, back up northeast to Chameleon Bay. From there, we'll turn right back around and survey the island territories off the eastern and southern coasts."

"All in all, a fun little trip!" Milana assured him excitedly.

Kasori had been mapping Mushari's words in his head, and he voiced a concern:

"Won't that leave the entire northern quarter of the Earth Kingdom unplumbed?"

"Fortunately for us, your actions in the last couple of years have provided an enormous impetus for the governments up there to stabilize the region. The north is largely equanimous now, and the Northern Water Tribe and Fire Nation's recent combined efforts to rid the northern seas of piracy has helped to calm things down in the northwest, too. It was decided that our presence there would be superfluous. The vast majority of the problem now resides in the central and southern provinces."

Kasori supposed that that made sense, after all: The north was the most sparsely populated area in the kingdom — most of it was covered in thick, inhospitable mountain terrain. The most important areas were the northeast and northwest, which were immediately under the eyes of Ba Sing Se and Taku respectively, so it wasn't all that incredible that the north should be the most stable area in the kingdom.

Particularly not when Gaozhan was concentrating on the southern half of the world…

He wondered what Prince Mushari thought of the king of Omashu's actions, but before he could figure out a way to ask without sounding rude, they reached a large garden enclosed by a low stone wall abutting the path on which they were walking:

It was a pretty little place, with neat, artful rows of various plants, trees scattered strategically to form copses and divisions within the garden, separating one set of plants from another and encapsulating secluded little nooks where the contemplative could meditate in peace.

Well, it was harder to do that in the winter: Most of the trees had dropped their leaves and merely clawed at the sky with gray, skeletal branches; the bushes and flowering plants were equally dingy, though a few hardy ones displayed their lush, dark green herbage to the world. At the moment, until the vernal bloom arrived, this looked more like a wasteland than a garden.

Of course, Kasori didn't really care one way or the other: He had certainly seen plains and forests in full bloom of summer and spring, but he hailed from the frozen north. To him, wide stretches of sparkling snow and ice were more beautiful than green grass and bright flowers.

Mushari led them into the garden through a little gate and proceeded to wind his way through the little earthen trails that spider-webbed throughout the enclosure, Kasori and Milana following him closely. He brought them near the southeastern corner, where they found a copse of particularly tall and luscious evergreens, under which the ground was free of snow, being shielded by the thick boughs above.

Leaning against one of the trees was a young man, about Mushari's age, who could not have appeared more different from the prince if his hair had been bleached blond: He was muscular and dark-skinned, browned by the sun, with striking blue eyes that Kasori found unusual for an Earth Kingdom citizen, and hair as black as jet in a rather unkempt mass on top of his head. He had an air of coolness and strength about him, along with that subtle and simple confidence so common to soldiers.

His attention was occupied with something in his hands, which, as the little party of three grew closer, Kasori saw was a small block of wood that he was carving with a pearl knife.

The youth spotted the group as they approached, straightened up, stowed his wood carving and knife, and turned towards them. Kasori noticed that his eyes fell somewhat suspiciously on him; there was distrust in their electric-blue depths.

Kasori supposed that that was to be expected.

"Zan, it's good to see you again," Mushari greeted the young man, "I haven't seen you in weeks — was your trip to Taku enjoyable?"

"Fairly, Mushari," Zan answered somewhat flatly; he was still glaring at Kasori. He seemed not to want to say more in front of the Water Tribesman; Mushari appeared to sense the tension and continued in a placating voice:

"Zan, this is Kasori of the Northern Water Tribe. The one I was telling you about."

"Yes…I've heard the rumors about you," Zan told Kasori, narrowing his blue eyes. "Very interesting…"

"The prince has said nothing but good things about you," Kasori said slowly, unsure of what to make of Zan's cold, neutral tone, "I am very pleased to meet you."

Zan merely gave him a stiff nod.

"Oh, don't be like that, Zan!" Milana chided him like a schoolteacher admonishing a stubborn pupil, though her lighthearted tone belied any seriousness, "Kasori's here to help, after all!"

"We'll see," Zan countered, still not taking his eyes off of Kasori.

Now what was _that_ supposed to mean?

"Why else would I be here?" Kasori asked him, curious to see what this earthbender thought of him.

"How should I know?" Zan shot back suspiciously, "All I know is that the Water Tribe hasn't exactly helped the Earth Kingdom very much in the past! Why would you want to help us now?"

"I hardly think a war that happened three hundred years ago is relevant to Kasori's current motives," Milana cautioned, "The Water Tribes are very different now."

That was true: Three hundred years ago, the Water Tribes would have been almost unrecognizable to modern tribesmen — a confederation of various tribes, not just the ancient North and South, scattered all across the world. In that time, the Water Tribe had invaded the Earth Kingdom, causing unbelievable destruction.

But that was very much in the past — the war had largely been forgotten. The Water Tribes had reformed under the archetypal Northern and Southern divisions, and the Earth Kingdom had recovered. Everyone had moved on.

Well, almost everyone, apparently.

Kasori had never expected to meet animosity for a war that had had happened three centuries before he was even born, but he supposed that that kind of attitude wasn't exactly unprecedented: Historically, the nations had always distrusted each other for their past misdeeds. It was part of why the Air Nomads did not engage in politics: It seemed to invariably lead to the baser side of humanity rearing its ugly head.

"I'm not so sure," Zan muttered.

"I assure you, on the honor of my people," Kasori told the earthbender quite incisively, "that the Water Tribes are much different today. And I am only here because I care about what happens to the people of the Earth Kingdom — just like you."

Zan snorted skeptically: "We'll see."

"Yes," Kasori retorted, "we will."

"Wonderful," Milana cut across them lightly, either ignoring or attempting to defuse the tension with her levity, "Now that we've all met, we should get moving — it's past noon, and it'll take us hours to get to the Lower Ring."

"Yes," Mushari added more seriously, glancing nervously between Kasori and Zan, who were still staring not-so-friendlily at each other, "In recent years, my father established a special branch of the police, dedicated specifically to the Lower Ring. They are plainclothes operators, who have been surveying and attempting to subvert the rife criminal activity there. We're going to meet with a captain in that police division, and he's expecting us by midnight — he wants us to observe a sting."

"Should be quite exhilarating!" Milana pronounced cheerily.

"We should get going," Prince Mushari said, "We have a couple of stops to make before we depart for the Lower Ring, and like Milana said, it's already past noon."

The four of them began to make their way towards the garden gate, but then Zan stopped right in Kasori's way.

"You two go on ahead," he said quietly to Mushari and Milana, "I want a couple words with the waterbender."

Something in his voice made Kasori's hands reflexively tighten into fists; he forced himself to relax them. It wouldn't do to pick fights with this earthbender, however annoyingly patronizing he was: After all, he had to travel around with this guy, likely for some months.

Mushari didn't seem to like the idea of leaving the two of them alone, but apparently he could not pluck up the courage to protest; he merely muttered something about not taking too long, turned, and left; Milana hovered for a few more seconds, a curious grin on her face, glancing between the two younger benders, before following the prince.

"What do you want?" Kasori asked somewhat brusquely once they were gone.

Zan turned to face him. There was palpable disdain in his eyes.

"Look, waterbender," he growled, "I don't know who you are or what you're about, and personally, I don't care. I'm coming on this journey because Mushari's got his heart set on seeing the plight of his people, and I'm not letting him go alone."

"Admirable," Kasori pronounced shortly but not untruthfully, "but what does that have to do with me?"

"I don't trust you," Zan pronounced without hesitation. _Well, same here_. "And the Water Tribe hasn't been very friendly to the Earth Kingdom in recent times. So here it is: If you threaten Mushari _in any way_, or bring _any_ manner of harm to him, I _will_ kill you — right then and there, no questions asked."

Kasori blinked: He was hardly afraid of this earthbender, but the sudden and severe aggression was…unsettling. Why on earth was he so hostile? He remembered that Mushari had described the two of them as being close childhood friends, so he tried to imagine how he would feel if he were on a mission to protect Unukk (Henyara would never consent to being protected, after all), and someone who he suspected of harboring ill will towards the Water Tribe were to be accompanying them.

He supposed that he might have felt similarly.

Zan had turned and was making his way towards the gate; apparently he was done.

Kasori was not: The Water Tribesman walked swiftly passed the earthbender, turned sharply on his heel, and stopped right in his path. Zan halted, looking slightly surprised but mostly angry.

"That's fair enough," Kasori told him frostily, "but now there's something _you_ should know: The only reason I'm here is because Earth King Weizin _himself_ asked me to come help your friend on this journey. I really do care about the people of the Earth Kingdom, and that's why I assented to the Earth King's request. I have absolutely no intention of harming Prince Mushari, or even you, for that matter."

Zan glared at him, nostrils flaring; he obviously didn't believe him.

"But get this straight _right now_," Kasori told him icily; he paused briefly to make sure the earthbender was paying attention, and he looked him dead in the eyes before continuing: "I do _not_ take threats lightly, and if you're trying to intimidate me, consider yourself a failure."

Zan's anger at that was apparent, but he remained quiet.

"I admire your devotion to your friend," Kasori told him seriously, "I'm the same way towards my own. But guess what? I don't go around threatening to take the lives of anybody who looks at them the wrong way — or whom I have a half-brained suspicion of being hostile.

"So here it is: You can threaten me all you like, but I promise you that you have _no_ idea who you're dealing with, and should push actually come to shove…I won't hold back."

Not even waiting for a response, Kasori turned sharply and left the garden.

* * *

"So how ya been, Buan Po?" Köna asked the man sitting next to him in the teashop. Buan Po was an old friend – well, insofar as one could be "friends" with a black market recruiter – who had a penchant for some disgusting flavor of tea that burned the hairs in Köna's nose.

But one didn't complain about things like that on the black market…not unless one wanted to get stabbed.

Buan Po had been the first person Köna had contacted in looking for some quick work, and he had told him that Fung Co was enlisting local labor for a sizeable movement of contraband this evening.

Köna had heard of Fung Co, of course: He wasn't the kingpin of the underworld, but his name was fairly commonplace, and he had a special knack for bringing exotic goods in from overseas. That made him a moneymaker, and there was always room for moneymakers in the underworld.

Personally, Köna liked the sound of Fung Co much better than that of the other middle-management types he knew by name: Fung Co had a reputation for being meek and genial in his dealings, not exactly a common quality in the criminal underground, and he could afford to be generous to his employees because of his skill in accruing lucre. It made him an attractive employer, and that was something the black market bigwigs above him liked.

So, nobody really messed with Fung Co — the money he made got disseminated throughout the entire black market, and Fung Co didn't really earmark any of his profits for anyone in particular: He just let the economy do its work, and that made him valuable to _everyone_.

Köna wasn't sure whether that was an intentional design on Fung Co's part, or whether he had just happened upon such a precious position in the underworld hierarchy — but it didn't really matter: Work was work, and money was money.

_The working poor's motto, eh?_ he thought jocularly to himself.

"Well," Buan Po finally replied after a long draught of tea, "I've actually been pretty good: There's a famine southeast of here that's driving a lot of migrants to the ports for work, so there's been an upsurge in new recruits. Gang rivalries have been pretty mild lately, too, so I've just been raking in the gold."

"How much of it goes to your bosses, though, eh?" Köna said hintingly, nudging Buan Po's side with his elbow.

"Yeah, well, there is that…"

"Looks like we've got a full house," Köna observed, looking around: Bathed in the blood-red light of the setting sun, the teashop was packed to the brim with a chattering, motley crowd of transient workers. Some of them were undoubtedly starving, and trying desperately to feed their families; others were just leeches, looking for a quick score of cash to feed some roaring beast of an addiction — alcohol, probably: That seemed to be the favorite in ports like Shun Bei. And still others were "professional" transients — people who made a decent living simply by hopping from one temporary job to the next. They knew the system well enough to work three or four jobs on a good day, and were frugal enough to manage the money wisely.

They eked out a fairly comfortable existence…often at the expense of others who needed the money more and who were nowhere near as lazy.

As Köna surveyed the crowd, five newcomers entered the clogged teashop, and immediately, Köna knew that these were no ordinary transients: These men had something much darker on their minds…

How did he know that?

He always knew: For as long as he could remember, Köna had always been incredibly intuitive; he had only ever needed a single glance to tell whether someone was trustworthy or duplicitous, smart or stupid, dangerous or gentle, good or evil…and ninety-nine percent of the time, he was right.

It was a gift that was invaluable in the quasi-criminal life he chose to live, drifting from town to town, subsisting on whatever he could earn, honestly or not, but only ever cheating the ones he thought had already cheated others.

He could tell – by the way they walked, the glints in their eyes, the way they scanned the crowd immediately upon entering, the way they selected a nondescript, secluded spot to sit, the way they subsequently spoke only very furtively amongst themselves, by _everything_ about them – that these five men were not to be messed with. Something sinister hung about them like a noxious fog, and Köna found himself keeping one eye glued to them the entire time.

_Just who are these characters? What do they want here?_

It could be as simple as they wanted money — that's what everyone else was here for, anyway. But no, that didn't feel right: They were here for some other reason — but what?

Whatever it was, Köna wasn't going to let them out of his sight until he found out.

* * *

"It's time we made our move," Captain Ji Chen Gren muttered to his four Onyx Guards as they all five worked spuriously at stacking crates that had been unloaded from a ship's hold onto carts to be disbursed who knew where.

"Finally," growled Yuan Po irascibly, "I haven't been able to shake that foul odor from the teashop, and it's been a whole hour!"

"Focus, Sergeant," Do Zhi murmured severely.

Their target, Fung Co, was holed up in the captain's cabin of the foremost of the four merchant vessels he had brought in from overseas. The man had been waiting for the workers when his men had fetched them from the teashop, spoken a few warm words to them about economic prosperity and whatnot, and then ensconced himself in the cabin for the remainder of the job.

The wilder part of Ji found that cowardly and pathetic, but the smarter part knew that it was a wise move. Most black market dealers of Fung Co's level did not get involved personally in their own business — the fact that he was even on-site was abnormal.

But isolating himself would turn out to be a fatal mistake: Most of the cargo had been offloaded from the ships by now, and the workers were now entering the more laborious process of sorting them onto carts to be shipped out overland, so most of Fung Co's lackeys were scattered about on the dock, making sure no one tried to steal anything. There were only a handful of them up on the ships.

"We move now," Ji growled to his compatriots as they finished loading the cart, exhausting the crates near them; they moved as one, heading towards the merchant flagship. They were utterly unimpeded as they made their way casually up the gangplank, as though to fetch more crates to offload — there were still some left after all.

As Ji stepped onto the deck, his trained eyes had already surveyed the opposition: Four henchmen, two flanking the entrance to the captain's cabin, and two descending into the hold, probably to oversee some workers down there.

Ji turned his head slightly to shield his mouth from the cabin sentinels, who were on his left, and muttered something nonchalantly to Lt. Do Zhi, who nodded with equal aplomb.

The group separated, with Sergeant Ru Fuang following Captain Ji Chen Gren towards the captain's cabin, and the other three heading towards the hold, descending down the ladder after the guards.

As Ji approached the two were guarding the cabin, he was less than impressed: They were typical black market lackeys, with an obvious lack of training, though he had to hand it to them that they _did_ appear suspicious at the sight of two men drawing near to the captain's quarters.

Nevertheless, Ji had an excuse prepared for these simpletons:

"Um…sirs?" he said with disgusting servility, dropping his eyes and fidgeting his hands nervously in plain view like a good boy, Ru Fuang mimicking his ovinity.

"Yeah? What do you want?" one of them spat at him, obviously bored already by their conversation.

"Um…one of your friends down there sent us with a message for Fung Co."

"Oh? Which one of our friends?"

_Damn…_

"Why would he tell us that?" Ru Fuang asked with tentative waspishness.

"I suppose he wouldn't," the guard allowed.

_Good work, Sergeant_.

"So what's the message?" the other guard asked.

"Um…" Using his false nervousness as a smokescreen, Ji ducked his eyes and furtively glanced backward towards the hold: There was no sign of the two guards who had gone down there, and just as he looked, his three compatriots were ascending.

_Now or never_.

"The message – mind you, it's very strange – was this: _Fire burns brightly, but coarse sand smothers the flame_."

The guards stared at him, nonplussed. What kind of message was this?

"Wha — ?" one of them started to ask — but he was interrupted as Ru Fuang's fist suddenly shot out into a straight punch to his throat; the sound of laryngeal cartilage being crushed was startlingly loud, and before the other guard could respond, Ji had dealt him a similar blow.

Ji reached down calmly and opened the door to the captain's cabin; he and Ru Fuang seized the bodies as they fell and flung them, one after the other, into the cabin, following swiftly. The other three Onyx Guards remained behind on watch, so Ji and Ru Fuang closed the door behind them.

Fung Co was on the opposite side of the cabin, lounging behind a desk, looking alarmed by the sudden presence of these two men who had just murdered his only guards.

Ji grinned bestially as he and Ru Fuang approached their quarry.

* * *

_There they go_, Köna observed surreptitiously; he had been watching those five strangers ever since he had first spotted them in the teashop, and as the minutes passed, he had come to the decision that they were here for Fung Co. They wanted him for whatever reason, and sure enough, there they were, ascending the gangplank to his flagship.

Were they gangsters seeking to rough up the black market racketeer, threaten him for money or influence perhaps? Possible, but it didn't make sense: Fung Co had no partiality to any of the gangs, but allowed the profits of his enterprises to support them all equally. It was a delicate balance that the gangs would not disturb lightly, and Buan Po had said that gang activity was mild recently.

So who were they? Agents of the law? Pfft — as if. In Shun Bei? Not a chance.

No, these people were something far more sinister…but what?

Köna would find out: Dropping what he was doing, the Air Nomad boy began to make his way towards the flagship.

* * *

"Who the devil are you people?" Fung Co demanded tremulously, "And what are you doing in here? What do you want?"

"I think we'll be the ones asking the questions, if you don't mind," Ji told him dangerously as he and Ru Fuang drew closer.

Of course, in the wooden confines of a ship, their earthbending would be useless…but they wouldn't be needing it, especially not to deal with this spineless worm. Even now, the man was trembling pitifully before them as the two Onyx Guards came up to his desk, standing obliquely to either side, in case the racketeer should foolishly attempt to flee.

Fung Co seemed unable to reply; his wide eyes were fixed on the bodies of his newly dead guards, flung forlornly onto the floor.

"So first things first," Ji said comfortably, "This cache you have up in the mountains southeast of here, the cache where you were conducting a transaction with the Jing Po marauders earlier today…how long has that been going on?"

"H-How do you know about that?"

"Bad news," Ru Fuang told him with feigned sympathy, "I'm afraid that that transaction is not going to be completed."

"What have you monsters done?" Fung Co demanded.

"Look at it this way," Ji answered suavely, "Now you can simply resell those weapons to another band of idiot marauders. If you give us our answers, we won't interfere, and you get to make a profit out of this mess. Win, win."

"What is it you want to know?"

"I already told you: How long has that little racket been going on?"

"Years now," Fung Co answered readily. _Good…he knows when he's beaten_. "The Jing Po are good customers."

"And where do you get the contraband?" That was the critical question.

"Here, there, everywhere. Who can say? I have people paid to find me stuff all over the Earth Kingdom. I think that batch came from up north — a small group of marauders I bribed hit a military convoy and brought me the goods. Pretty standard, actually…"

"You sure it was a band of marauders?" Ji asked dangerously. He had to credit this man: The look of surprise he gave him appeared very genuine.

"O-Of course! Why would I lie about that?"

"To hide the fact that you're colluding with the Fire Nation!"

Fung Co blinked in utter shock: "Wh-What?! I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"I think you do," Ji growled, "We have reason to believe that the Fire Nation is involved in supplying the weapons that you in turn resell to the marauders!"

"_What?_ That's _insane!_"

_Hmm…either this guy's a fantastic actor…or he really has no clue what's going on here…_

Was that so unbelievable, though? After all, he was merely a middle-level black market racketeer. What would he know about international espionage? It could easily be that he was nothing more than a pawn in the firebenders' scheme. The Jing Po obviously were — why not this guy, too? Having multiple pawns would be to their advantage, too — it made it extremely difficult to track them down.

Mobsters had employed this kind of strategy for as long as organized underworld crime had existed: Bribe the right people to do the right things in the right places at the right times, bribe them using goods or money stolen by other bribed parties, use middlemen who had been extorted or threatened or themselves bribed by people whom you could kill later…in the end, the entire process was executed by people who had no clue who they were really working for or what the big picture of it all was.

The criminal puppet masters – in this case, the firebenders – pulled the strings from behind the scenes, moving their pawns this way and that and disguising themselves completely within the normal rigmarole of mundane criminal enterprises.

It was an age-old strategy, yes, and it was so old because it worked so well…for those who had the resources and brains to pull it off.

That made these firebenders all the more dangerous.

"So you're trying to tell me that you really had no idea that the contraband you were pushing was acquired by the Fire Nation?"

"No, no, of course not! I'm just a middleman! All I do is connect buyers to sellers and make some profit for myself! That's _it!_ That's all I've ever done — just ask around, ask anyone!"

They already had, and that lined up: Fung Co was indeed known as a matchmaker. And…his confusion seemed quite genuine. They had no real reason to suspect him, and good reason to believe that he was just a pawn.

"Then answer me this, Fung Co," Captain Ji Chen Gren demanded, "How do you get in touch with these 'marauders' you hire to do your dirty work up north?"

"I-I have a man up there — Wu Xao. Everything comes through him."

_Then that's our next target_.

"You're going to tell us everything about this Wu Xao…_now_."

* * *

So, it sounded like these weird characters were investigators of sorts after all, Köna decided. From his perch atop a thin protrusion of wood at the aft of the ship, just below the rear windows of the captain's quarters, sidled up against the wooden hull, he could hear quite clearly through the glass the conversation that was going on inside.

It was amazing how easily glass transmitted sound…especially when one was an airbender and could manipulate the air pressure on either side of it, amplifying any sound waves.

_Well, I suppose there's not much left to do_, Köna concluded. His suspicions of the strangers' sinister nature had been confirmed…but it also seemed that they had no intention of harming Fung Co so long as the latter cooperated, which he was doing profusely, _and_ it appeared that their new mission would be to track down this Wu Xao character up north, so they would be leaving Shun Bei behind.

Good riddance, Köna thought. He would be heading east, then, away from these guys.

With that decision made, Köna slid off the ledge and airbent his way back onto the docks, returning furtively to his work site.

After all, he still needed to get paid.

* * *

Fung Co sighed weakly as the two earthbenders left; he waited several minutes before heading to the door and cracking it open, peering nervously out onto the deck: No one was there.

Stepping surreptitiously outside and rapidly scanning the docks below, he spotted the two earthbenders – plus three others who, from the look of things, were their associates – hard at work packing crates onto carts to be shipped out across the Earth Kingdom, as though they had not just been threatening him and had not just murdered his two guards.

Fung Co retreated back into his office, closing and locking the door behind him, stepped carefully over the two corpses, and sat down at his desk; he pulled out some paper and began to write a coded missive, to be dispatched the moment these earthbenders were gone.

When he was done, Fung Co – whose real name was lost to history and was more accurately known as Codename IROKURO – smiled, sealing the missive and stowing it in his robes.

Princess Li Wa would be pleased.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
**

****Okay, so unfortunately, I have been absolutely swamped recently, and I just do not have the time to keep up with this fanfic for now: I am forced to go on hiatus, starting this week, so this'll be my last chapter for now. I'll keep trying, but I'm not so sure when I'll be back - hopefully by the end of the month. Anyway, you can still keep up with Ciloron's story - I'm pretty sure he's still churning out the chapters.


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